The Journey
by xrandomgrrl23x
Summary: Katara is having trouble adjusting after the end of the war, so she goes on an extended journey to find herself. Along the way, she meets old and new friends and may just find love. Zutara later chapters; T for mild language. Previously title "The Ritual" -Complete!-
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own any Avatar characters or related content.**

**Warning: some mild language**

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><p>Chapter 1: Have you ever smelled your dirty socks?<p>

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><p><em>That bitch!<em> His mind screamed at her, but he knew he couldn't actually do so out loud. She had no idea what he had been through, the lengths he had gone to, just to be there for Aang, and now she was telling him he was ungrateful for not washing his clothes and expecting her to do it! Well, he'd had about enough of that. He stormed out of the room and let her seethe by herself.

When Zuko took the time to think about it, he knew Katara was actually right. She did know what he'd been through, and had been through more than enough herself. But right now, Zuko did not want to feel sympathetic.

"She's just so …UH!" he screamed in the bathroom a minute later, along and to no one. He pulled his shirt over his head and started to run a bath, figuring he was already there. But then he remembered: he had no clean clothes left. And that was exactly what had started the fight.

"It wasn't my fault. I put them in the laundry pile this morning."

_Yeah, after Katara had already done the laundry._

"Well, I mean, she didn't have to get so upset about it."

But Zuko was kidding himself. Katara had every right to be upset, and he knew her moods like…well, like he knew his own moods. He had seen the dark circles under her eyes this morning and heard her sighs of frustration. More importantly, he knew exactly how long it had been since she'd been like a rampaging Armidillo Lion. And he'd just gone and baited her.

He sighed. He should probably apologize, but he really didn't want to face the well-deserved reaming he would get if he went back now. Better to let these things pass like a storm over a sea than to head straight on into it.

Eventually Zuko decided to take his bath, after first washing out the clothes he was wearing and drying them a bit with his fire bending. It would be a good way to distract his mind from his recent spat with Katara.

As he sank into the bath, which had cooled but was now being reheated to an almost scalding temperature by him, Zuko thought of how much of Katara's element she embodied. She could be cold and hard as ice, and slow to change and move as the biggest icebergs of her home, or fluid and quick as some of the mountain streams they had passed on their journey. She could be furious and full of rage as the sea during a mighty storm, or calming and warm as these bathwaters were to him now.

_I'll never be like that_, he thought. His own element was one-sided in his view, hot-tempered like himself, but nothing else on the side. He wasn't versatile like Katara. Hell, he couldn't even make lightening. He was a sad excuse of a bender in a sad excuse of an element.

But he couldn't help but think of the times Katara and he had fought side by side, especially against Azula. Then he had felt like they were connected, extensions of each other, like he felt with his twin blades; he had felt able to do anything, versatile like Katara. He had liked the feeling.

It had been over two months since the Gaang's successful battle during the comet, and most of them were still holed up in the Fire Lord's palace, figuring out their next move, chartering vessels, and generally trying to piece their lives back together after almost two years of running and trying to save the world from Fire Lord Ozai. Zuko's place as Fire Lord was still surreal, as was most of the things happening around him: the collapse of his country's economy, the riots in the colonies and other nations, the uneasiness of his people now faced with freedom, and most of all, his growing relationship with Mai. He was most afraid of that last one.

With all of this going on, it was easy for Zuko to fall into the familiar patterns of his life with the Gaang in his spare time. Easy to fall into the familiar patterns of fighting with Katara, laughing with Aang, caring for Toph, and generally being annoyed but amused by Sokka. But he had little to no spare time, and even his private bath was about to be spoiled by an attendant rushing towards him with a scroll, a panicked look, and four other guys behind him carrying some very regal looking robes. Zuko sighed and prepared to go back to work. He would just have to postpone his apology further. It was then that he remembered he was Fire Lord, and always had an abundance of clothes, meaning the fight had been pointless from the beginning.

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><p>"Katara!" Katara turned to find Aang swooping in behind her on his new glider. "Want to go for a picnic today?"<p>

Katara sighed, her patience wearing thin. "No, Aang, I'm sorry." Aang's crestfallen look prompted her to explain, though she knew it would just waste more time. "I have to wash Zuko's clothes now, because he didn't put them in the laundry pile until after I had washed all of your clothes, so now I have to go back to the stream again, and do another load of wash, again, then walk back, again, probably to find some more dirty clothes someone forgot, AGAIN!" Katara stopped. She had almost screamed that last part. She must be really frustrated again, and the time of the month didn't help.

"Why?" Aang said. Bad choice. Katara whirled at him, looking like she just might breathe fire, despite the fact that she was a waterbender.

"Why? _Why_? Because all of you are _ungrateful_, good-for-nothing _lumps_ of stinking _clay_ who can't even do their **_own_** _laundry_, or pick up after themselves, or cook their own food, or get their own food, for that matter, and it's a wonder you can even eat without me spoon-feeding you, or that your even POTTY-TRAINED! And by the way, have you ever smelled your dirty socks, Aang? Hmmm? They're almost as bad as Sokka's, which are almost as bad as Toph's! I never thought I would smell socks worse than Sokka's, until I got a whiff of Toph's! Spirits, have you smelt them?"

"Um, but Katara, Toph doesn't wear socks—"

"Well, whatever she wears on her feet, they stink!"

"And you don't have to do our laundry anymore."

That stopped Katara cold.

"What?"

"Well, I mean, we're at the palace now and they have servants to do that, and all the other stuff you said, and, well, even if you did have to do our laundry, you wouldn't have to walk all the way to the stream, you know?"

Katara was motionless, and speechless. A very rare occurrence for her. "Oh, right," she said softly. "Well then, I'll just be…heading back to put these away…"

"Then do you want to go on a picnic?"

"Maybe…"

Katara felt strangely lost on her way back to the palace. She walked through the hallways in a haze, dropping the basket at the laundry room and continuing on until she got to the courtyard and gardens. There she sat in the shade of a tree, staring at the pond full of turtle-ducks in front of her.

She had always felt overwhelmed, the only mothering type of the Gaang, at least until Suki came along, and still she had felt like there was always something she needed to get done. But she had always been needed. She had dreamed of the day when she would be free from the Gaang's laundry, their cooking, their tidying up, their campsite. When she wasn't the bad guy because she yelled at someone to cook or clean or do laundry like she had asked them to, or at least obey the parameters she had put in place for her to do those things. But now, the Gaang didn't need her. Aang didn't need her. She flashbacked to the beginning of their journey together, almost two years ago, when Aang had surpassed her at waterbending, something she had spent years learning how to do. She had been so mad. It had taken her years to do the simplist of maneuvers, and it had taken Aang only a few minutes to figure them out, then to make them better. It felt like he had taken away the one thing that made her special and important. That was just how she felt now, except now she had no one to place the blame on. And it just made her more mad.

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><p>Zuko arrived at the garden area almost an hour later, wanting to clear his head and think about all the problems facing him with a new view. It surprised him to find Katara there, staring at the pond under the tree he and his mother used to sit under. Though, thinking on it, he wasn't overly surprised. The pond was the only real water in the palace, and Katara was a waterbender.<p>

A good opportunity for that apology, he thought.

"Hi Katara," he said, sitting beside her and flashing a smile.

"Hi," she replied, rather sulkily in his opinion. Where was the rampaging Katara, feared by all? Where was the powerful woman to be respected and apologized to? That was what he had expected, not this sulky, melancholy girl. It was like she was Mai, though Mai was like that all the time, and he thought it was kind of cute, in a weird way. On Katara, it was just weird. She didn't even try to smile.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"… Okay."

This caused her to look at him curiously. He was staring at the turtleducks in the pond.

"Okay? You don't want to know why I'm upset?"

He shrugged. "If you want to tell me, I'm all ears. But if not, I've got my own issues to work out, you know?" Katara sat back and was quiet. This was strange. Usually Aang pushed her to tell him what was going on, and Sokka and Toph never really cared enough to listen, or, in Toph's case, even ask. Zuko's reaction baffled her. She sat for a few more minutes in the silence.

"So what's on your mind?" she asked.

"Hmm? Oh, well, a lot of things. You know, Fire Lord and all. Lots of things to deal with."

"And the current crisis?"

He sighed. "The country's coming apart at the seams. After a hundred years of bad blood, no one wants to trade with the Fire Nation anymore, and our previous methods of creating and exporting goods are no longer viable. We can't just take people and force them to work by imprisoning them in work camps; we have to give them a proper wage. But first we have to figure out what that is. Plus, there's tension within the nation. Everyone's afraid of the big, bad new Fire Lord, disgraced son of Ozai. No one's seen me for years, and none of them know what to expect. Hell, half of them don't know what I really look like, and the palace wardrobers want me to change 'my look'. I don't even know what my look is! But, all in a day's work of running a disgraced nation, I guess."

Katara sat back and thought on this. "My problems don't seem nearly as bad as yours do."

"Maybe their bad in a different way. I won't know unless you tell me."

Katara looked at him again, finding his golden eyes with her own. She squinted at him. "You're pretty wise, you know that?"

He laughed. "Not really. Just been through a lot. Plus, I've spent a lot of time with Uncle."

At this she laughed too. "Yeah, he kind of rubbed off on you."

He seemed surprised. "Really?"

She laughed again. "Yeah, you two seem really alike to me. Both wise and a little goofy." She continued to laugh, and Zuko joined in.

"You know, I don't think I've ever really heard you laugh. Not a lot, I mean," he said to her.

"I could say the same for you."

"Yeah." He smiled softly and pulled his knees up to his chest, resting his arms on his knees, his chin on his arms. "Guess I just haven't had the opportunity."

"Same goes for me. I was always the responsible one, never had time for a joke, never the person people worked to make laugh. Never any time to laugh. Guess I'm not anymore."

This made him sit up and look at her. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I was always kind of the mom of the group. I just fell into the role, after my mom died, with Sokka, and the same with the Gaang."

"No, that's not what I meant. What do you mean, you're not the responsible one anymore?"

"Oh." She went quiet. "Well, I guess I'm not needed. There's all these attendants and servants and wardrobe people, and, well, now none of you guys need little old Katara cleaning your clothes in the stream. I'm useless."

This made Zuko turn and look at Katara, shocked. "Katara, you could never be useless. Never. You're the best waterbender in the entire world, you defeated Azula, you're the only mother Toph has ever had, you're the best sister in the entire world, you taught the avatar waterbending, and…and, well, I don't know what I would do without you."

Katara looked at him, shocked with this outburst. "Really?"

"Really. Even when we were enemies, you were the person I trained myself for. I knew if I could defeat you, I was one step closer to beating my sister." He smiled. "Not even my sister could beat you. And now? Well, now I rely on you to be there, Katara. I know whether it's going to be a good day or a bad day by your moods, like my uncle knows when it's going to rain from his knees. I don't know what I'll do when you leave."

Through all of this, Katara began to cry a little, and at the last part she burst into sobs, tears and snot streaming down her face.

Zuko was startled by this display of emotion; he had no idea what was the right thing to do, so he just took Katara and wrapped her in a hug, patting her thick hair and shushing her sobs. When she had quieted a little, he pulled back and looked at her.

"What was that all about?" he said with a small smile, hoping to make her laugh a little.

"It's just…I never even thought about that. Where am I going to go now? Travel with Aang? Go back to my family? Live my life in one place, isolated from the rest of the world? I don't think I can do that now. I don't even know who I _am_ anymore!" She stood and made her way out of the shade of the tree, watching the sunlight on the pond. "I can't go back to where I was, or go on to a new place, without knowing that."

Zuko stared at her, awed. After too long a silence, she turned and looked at him.

"What?"

"I was just thinking."

She sniffled and wiped her face. "Yeah? About what?"

Zuko stood, watching Katara from under the tree. "How old are you?"

Katara sniffled again. "Huh?"

"How old are you?"

"Sixteen this year."

"Really? Huh. When's your birthday?"

"The day of the Wolf Moon."

He blinked. "That was a few months after the attack on the Northern Water Tribe."

She laughed a bit sadly at that. "Yep. I never even got to celebrate it. We were still running from the Fire Nation." She shot him a look. "Well, the former Fire Nation."

He smiled. "Thanks. You know, I had a lot of birthdays as a banished prince. My uncle was the only one I always had there to celebrate them. Sometimes, when we couldn't even awknowledge it, I felt even more lost than I already did. But when I asked you how old you were, it was just to make sure I was right."

"Right about what?"

He turned to grip her shoulders, looking her straight in the eye. "Katara, you've had to grow up fast. Ever since your mom died, you had to be the mom of the family. When your dad went away, you were the only real responsible one in Sokka's eyes. When you met the Gaang, you were the person who kept everyone together—"

"That was Aang. You know, Avatar and all."

"No. It was you; you were the moon and stars to them. And when I met you? You were the sun, the moon, and the stars to me. I could set my watch by you. You were everything my uncle was to me, and more. Never flaky, never cryptic. I worked twice as hard to get you to accept me, like you were you and my uncle meshed into one. I knew if you accepted me, my uncle would too. But now, no one needs you to be their mom. Well, except maybe Sokka. And that's something you'll have to deal with; finding yourself."

There was the sound of clapping behind them, and Zuko turned to find Mai staring him down.

"_Woooow_, Zuko. _Real_ deep."

"Mai! How long have you been standing there?"

Mai flashed a look at Katara. Katara had never really liked Mai, and Waterbenders didn't cower in fear in the face of someone they dislike. She was no shy flower, so she met Mai's glare with her own proud gaze. Even if there was snot running down her face.

"Long enough," Mai said.

"Well," Katara started. "I can see you want to talk to Zuko alone. I'll just leave you to it, then."

"That's Fire Lord Zuko to you, girl," Mai sneered as Katara sauntered out. That made her red with anger, and she turned to face Mai's back.

"Mai…" Zuko could see Katara behind her, and knew this wasn't going to end well.

There was a woman carrying a bucket of water in the open-air corridors just above Mai's head. Katara could sense the water sloshing in the overfilled bucket, and could sense the woman as she approached the perfect spot. Just as Mai started to step to Zuko, the woman tripped, and the water sloshed out of the bucket and onto Mai's head. She gasped and turned to find the culprit, but Katara was already halfway down the hallway.

"That bitch!" Mai said, her hands fisted at her sides.

"Mai…" Zuko said again, reaching towards her.

"No!" Mai pushed him away, anger in her eyes. "She was what? The sun, the moon, and the stars to you? What about me? Did you ever even spare a thought for me? You wrote that stupid letter, then ran away at the Boiling Rock prison; did you even care about me?"

"Of course I cared about you, Mai! You're my girlfriend!"

"Well, I won't be for long if you keep this shit up."

"What are you talking about?"

Apparently, that was the wrong response, because Mai just glared at him, turned and stomped out.

And right on her heels were more courtiers ready to abduct and torture Zuko with the affairs of state. He rubbed his forehead. This was going to be a long day.

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><p>And he was right. Zuko spent hours in his office meeting with attendants, advisors, secretaries, dignitaries, business people, and many more. There was even a visit from his wardrobe staff. By the time he escaped to get dressed for dinner (not without his wardrobe staff in tow) he had a splitting headache. And he knew just the healer to fix it for him.<p>

"Mister Ping, could you fetch Master Katara for me, please? I need her healing touch."

Ping bowed and ran off, an "Of course, Fire Lord," echoing in the halls. A few minutes later, Katara arrived, waterskins in tow.

"Now, what's this I hear about a certain Fire Lord's head?"

"Ah, Katara. I just wanted to get a little help with my headache." Katara eyed him before opening her waterskins and encasing her hands in the healing gloves. She motioned for him to sit, then placed her hands at his temples.

"Could you please turn down the lamps?" she asked softly. "And be quiet about it, please." The light faded into a soft glow, and the servants retreated to the corners of the room.

"Close your eyes, Zuko. Now, what's been troubling you?"

"Everything. You know, Katara." She smiled slightly behind him, running her hands up and down his head, feeling the pathways of chi.

"There seems to be a blocked pathway right here," she said, gently touching the center of his forehead. "In the third eye. I can try to help the chi flow, but the third eye deals with perception, intuition, visualization, and self-mastery. I can only unblock so much chi before you have to start doing it on your own."

"Why can't you unblock all of it?" Zuko asked, as he felt the tension in his forehead fade away, leaving only a tiny, dull ache.

"I could, but there would be no point. Unless you unblock it yourself, and learn how to deal with the tension there, you would be constantly dealing with the chi blockage. You would be calling for a healer every day, and that just doesn't seem practical. Instead, I'll unblock most of the chi and give you some techniques for doing it on your own. But that small ache will remain until you finally realize what's truly blocking yourself, and remove it. The third eye is an extremely difficult chakra to open."

Zuko opened his eyes to find Katara sitting in front of him, bending her water back into its container.

"I would suggest eating more purplish or dark blue fruits, spices, and liquids. That usually helps with things like this. But any healer could have told you that."

Zuko smiled. "You caught me. I had other business I wanted to discuss with you." He took a breath, letting the pause draw out. Then he looked at her. "Have you figured out what you're going to do next?"

Katara seemed startled, paused for a bit. "No. I really don't know."

"Well. I would like to make a suggestion."

"What's that?"

"Stay here."

Katara started. "What?"

"Stay in the Fire Nation. I have a place for you as one of my trade advisors, or even an ambassador from the Water Tribes. Or, if that didn't suit you, I'm sure I could find something else for you to do. What do you say?"

Katara looked away. "I'd have to think about it."

Zuko smiled. "No problem. Take all the time you need." He stood, adjusting his robes, then offered her his arm. "So, how about I escort you to dinner?"

She smiled, then stood beside him. "That would be lovely, thank you. But Water Tribe women _aren't_ worn on their men's arms like trinkets. At least, not in my tribe."

He lowered his arm. "Point taken. Shall we go, then?"

"Yes."

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><p>They arrived just as everyone else was taking their seats, and separated as Zuko took his place at the head of the table, and Katara sat farther down. Aang sat to her right, Suki to her left. Toph was across from her, and Sokka across from Suki. Hakoda and the other Water Tribe warriors sat near Sokka and Katara, but spent most of their time chatting with foreign dignitaries about the opportunities of trading with the Water Tribes. Zuko understood the feeling; he had invited the dignitaries as a sign of good will himself, and was supposed to be chatting with them as Hakoda was, but he couldn't bring himself to do so. His mind was occupied with worry for Katara. He saw Hakoda's glances at her, and he was happy that her father knew something was up, and he knew Suki knew too, but neither of them seemed like they were doing anything. And the rest of the Gaang seemed oblivious. Sokka was trying to act cool and funny for Suki; Toph was making fun of Sokka, and Aang was bouncing around and generally being his airbender self. Only a few people at the table noticed Katara's mood. And that worried him.<p>

"Fire Lord Zuko?" A voice pulled him out of his reverie, and he turned to find Master Pakku, formerly of the Northern, and now Southern, Water Tribe.

"Master Pakku! Well, what brings you over to my end of the table? Sit, sit. Ping, bring a cushion for Master Pakku." Fire Nation law stated that no head was to be higher than the Fire Lord's, but Zuko took this to be more figurative, and only sat on a slightly elevated dias, which was mobile. But Master Pakku had been hunched over in what looked like a very painful position, especially for such a proud man. He had probably been warned not to overlook custom here.

"Thank you. Well, I wanted to talk to you about a trading empire between the Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and Water Tribes, and maybe eventually, the Air Nomads."

"It wouldn't be much of an empire, would it? Everyone would be a part of it!" Zuko said this with a smile on his face.

"Well yes," Pakku laughed, "that's the beauty of it. Everyone could have a share; no one nation could control all of it."

"Well, what was your plan?"

"The Fire Nation has become adept at building huge ships that can go almost anywhere, but their weakness is the reliance on coal as a propeller. And, the Fire Nation is not known for its seafaring prowess. No offence."

"Oh, none taken! I remember my first few months on a ship; it took me close to a year and a half to get my sea legs, and I'm still a little queasy!"

Pakku laughed with Zuko. "Well, that's what I'm talking about. But the Water Tribes, well, we're sea dogs by nature; born and bred in the ice and waves."

Zuko nodded. He thought he saw where this was going.

"Plus, water benders are much better and easier to get than coal; they know every nook and cranny of this ocean, and they're renewable—never have to stop for refueling. And, with the combination of fire, we might even be able to produce a new type of energy for motion. Have you talked to that inventor fellow? He's talking about his ideas for a new steam powered engine! Brilliant!"

"Where does the Earth Kingdom come into all this?"

"Oh, well they're the land aspect; the faces of the industry—they have all the connections, and what we can't get to by sea or river, they can get to through the trading roots they've already established."

"That sounds like a great idea, Master Pakku. How about a meeting to discuss it further? Ping! Ping, please come here."

"Yes, Fire Lord?"

"When is my next free meeting time?"

"In about two weeks, sir."

"Really? Wow. I thought I had more time free. How does two weeks sound to you, Master Pakku?"

"Er, well," the old man shifted uncomfortably. "That really won't work. We're leaving in about five days."

"Leaving? Who's leaving?"

"The Water Tribe men, and anyone who wants to tag along for awhile. We figure we'll head to Ember Island and split into two groups traveling North and South, dropping off people along the way."

"That'll make for a longer journey."

Pakku shrugged. "It's really not too bad. Plus, a water tribe vessel with waterbenders on board can make the journey to the poles in half the time of any other ship. Including a Fire Nation one." He winked at that.

Zuko nodded slowly, contemplating. His gaze returned to Katara.

"Master Pakku, what can you tell me about Water Tribe women?"

"What?" Pakku was startled by this, but he followed Zuko's gaze to Katara. "Oh. Yes, she is a bit melancholy today, isn't she? Not her usual self."

Zuko agreed, his eyes still worriedly on Katara. Pakku stroked his beard thoughtfully.

"You know, in the Water Tribe, a girl's fifteenth birthday is very important to her. In the North, it's the day she becomes eligible for courting and marriage. In the South, though, there is a bit of a different tradition."

Zuko looked at him, intrigued. "Do tell."

"Well, I only know what Kana has told me about it, you know. I'm no expert in our sister tribe's traditions, and it's a closely guarded secret among the women. I'm not sure even Hakoda or Bato know about it; I know Katara doesn't. I nearly had to torture Kana into telling me."

Zuko's eyebrow twitched. He did not want to know what the old man did to pull the answers out of his fiancé. The mere thought was almost as bad as the time uncle stood up when he was relaxing in some hot springs, giving Zuko a full frontal.

"But in the Southern Water tribe, on her fifteenth birthday a girl is sent out into the ice to survive for at least five days, then find her way back. The girl's family is responsible for training her, and never revealing the secret; she doesn't know until the day she goes out that the expedition is happening, or what it is. All she knows is that it's an important date."

"What happens if she fails?"

"The other women follow behind to make sure she doesn't die, or that she doesn't get lost. If a girl fails, she becomes a disgrace to the family, nameless. She's never allowed to marry, or to be seen by a man outside of her family without a mask. The girls know that whatever it is they have to do, if they don't do it right, they are disgraced. They know it's an important birthday, but not why."

"Katara's fifteenth birthday was the Wolf Moon, after the attack on the Northern Water Tribe."

Pakku started at that, then turned his gaze to Katara as well. "I never knew she was so young. Well, then her melancholy does have a reason."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, she was always so mature, I thought that she had gone through the ritual already, even though I didn't know what it was then. I knew there were several boys who thought of courting her. And, if what you say is true, than the thought of returning to her tribe without going through the ritual of her fifteenth birthday would be reason for worry."

"Reason for worry?"

"Well, she might be afraid she'll be disgraced. She never went through the ritual, and so never completed it. I would hope that she'd be allowed once she returned, but you never know."

"She said she was feeling…lost."

Pakku shot him a look. "Yes, well, she might be. Everything she's known for the past two years has ended, and her life at the tribe is changing. If she returns, she'll be an outcast, the one girl who wasn't able to go through the ritual, never knowing if she was worthy. If she doesn't, she'll be a nomad, jilted from her homeland. It's a difficult situation."

"What would you suggest to her?"

Pakku's eyes softened. He really did care for Katara. After that first fight she had with him, he knew she was special, and she had always worked twice as hard as any of his other students. "I would suggest she listen to her heart. And if she can't hear it, to search until she could." He turned to find Zuko watching him.

"Could you tell her that please?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of Avatar or related products**

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><p>Chapter 2: Those are my Kids!<p>

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><p>Pakku caught up to Katara as she left dinner.<p>

"Master Pakku," she said, turning to him, "How are you doing?"

"Oh, Katara, you don't have to call me Master Pakku anymore; I'm going to be married to Kana soon. You should call me what you would your own grandfather."

Katara made a face at this. "You want me to call you Gramp Gramp?"

Pakku returned the look; he didn't quite like what that implied. Then he smiled. "How about Pakku?"

Katara giggled a little at this. It was so simple. "Alright, _Pakku_, what did you want to talk to me about?"

Pakku smiled kindly. "You, Katara. You seem a bit…downhearted, as of late."

Katara's eyes darkened. "I guess I haven't been hiding it well, have I?"

"You aren't always the best at subtlety. But tell me, what's going on?"

"Well…I guess I just never thought of what I would do when the war ended. And now that it's over, I don't know what to do. My whole life revolved around Aang, taking care of him, training him, making sure he was safe and healthy so that he could save our world. Now, though, Aang doesn't need me anymore. No one does." She shut her eyes. "What am I supposed to do if no one needs me?"

Pakku watched her carefully. He sighed. "Katara, I know one person who needs you. You."

"What?"

"You need to find yourself," he said, grasping her by the shoulders. "You need to be who you have been and take care of yourself, and find who you are and what you are called to do in this broken world. Once you do that, you can do what you were meant to and take care of all the people who need you. Do you understand?"

Katara nodded slowly. "I think so."

Pakku smiled, wrapping his arm around her shoulder as they continued on to Katara's room.

"I think I have the perfect way of doing this, too. A little…ritual."

* * *

><p><em>A ritual,<em> Katara thought, packing up her things. _I can't believe I'm as excited about this as I am. It's really just what I've been doing for the past two years, just on my own._

_But that's the point._

Katara sighed. She really needed to stop arguing with herself. If people ever knew about it, they might think she was crazy.

"Okay, so let's see, do I have everything? Food, hairbrush, water, clothes (both Fire Nation and Water Tribe), what else?"

"How about a hug for your new Grandpa?"

Katara whirled. "Pakku!" she said, rushing into his arms. "I thought you had already left!"

She felt his laugh before she heard it. "We're just about to, but I wanted to see my favorite granddaughter first."

Katara giggled. "Pakku, I'm your _only _granddaughter!"

"Yes, well, if I said grandchild I'd be admitting I like you more than Sokka, and I don't think Kanna would let me live after that!" They both laughed.

"Hey, don't I get a hug?"

Katara turned to find Zuko in the doorway, his hair shaggy and disheveled. His wardrobe people hadn't gotten their paws on him, yet.

"Yes, of course," she said, opening her arms wide. "How could I deny my favorite Fire Lord?"

"What about your favorite father?"

"Dad!" Katara was out of Zuko's arms in a second and nestled deep in Hakoda's.

"Well, I guess Dad does beat friend, doesn't it?" Zuko said, laughing. Pakku joined him.

"What are you doing here, Dad?' Katara said, gazing up at Hakoda.

"Well, I couldn't let my baby girl go on a journey like this without seeing her off, could I?"

"That's right!" Katara said, hugging him again. "Is anyone else coming?" she said as she pulled away, looking around the room at all of them.

Zuko and Pakku exchanged glances before Zuko faced her. "Aang's already left, Toph too, Sokka and Suki wanted to come, but, well I'm not quite sure what happened to them…"

"They got…momentarily detained," said Pakku, blushing. "In a linen closet."

"That's my boy," said Hakoda, smiling, causing both Zuko and Katara to blush as well.

"Well, then if that's all the goodbyes I have to say…" said Katara, separating herself from her father's embrace.

"Before you go," said Pakku, exchanging a glance with Hakoda and Zuko. "A few gifts, yes?" He stepped forward reaching into his robe's pocket. When he opened his hand, there was a small flask. "Water, from the Spirit Oasis in the North. May you put it to good use like you did the last time."

Katara held out her hands, taking the flask delicately into her grip, her eyes tearing. "Pakku…"

"That's not all," said Hakoda. He stepped forward. Out of his pocket he took a comb and a pair of earrings. "Your mothers," he said. "May they bless you with more beauty than you already have, and her guiding spirit."

"Dad…" The tears streamed down her cheeks, and she hugged Hakoda again.

"Katara," said Zuko, stepping into the center of the room. "I know my gift won't have the same significance as these ones, but may you accept it all the same." He knelt, placing his hand over his heart. "Master Katara of the Southern Water Tribe, with these men as my witness, I, Fire Lord Zuko, pledge my protection to you as you travel through these lands. I give you my sacred seal," he held out a small wooden tablet, marked with the seal of the Fire Lord. He stood and reached into his pocket. "And, as a friend, I give you this." He held out his dagger. "A precious gift that has served me well, may it serve you the same."

Katara took the dagger and unsheathed it. "'Never give up without a fight'," she read. She looked up at him, touched. She knew what this dagger meant to him. "Thank you, Zuko." He smiled.

Pakku stepped forward, along with Hakoda. "May these precious gifts serve you well on your journey, and may you return safe to all of us," they said. All four shared an embrace.

* * *

><p>It was halfway to noon by the time Katara left, waving behind her the entire way. Pakku and Hakoda had to rush to the docks to make their boat in a carriage lent to them by Zuko, which, thanks to its imperial seals, made it to the docks with plenty of time.<p>

Zuko returned to his office, and his headache. His attendants were buzzing around like unswappable flies.

"Ping," he said, rubbing his forehead. "Could you get me some plums, or lychee berries, or something?"

"Something purple, sir?" Ping said, bowing.

"You're mocking me, aren't you?"

"No, of course not, sir."

"Ping."

"Yes, sir?"

"I can hear you smiling."

"Right." Ping coughed and blushed. "So, purple foods and drinks, sir. Right away."

"That's alright, Ping. I've got him covered." Zuko turned to find Mai in the doorway, holding a tray of plums, with several attendants behind her bearing more trays and foods.

"Mai!" said Zuko, standing and holding his arms open for her. She set her tray down on his desk and stepped into him. "It's good to see you."

"How about we take a little lunch break?"

"N-no, the Fire Lord has many tasks to take care of—" said one of the attendants.

"But, the Fire Lord must keep up his health in order to rule effectively," said Ping. The attendant glared at Ping.

"But perhaps a bit of light work, yes?"

Zuko turned to Mai. "Is that alright with you?"

Mai smiled. "Of course."

They set up in his office, bringing up the light on the lamps and opening the curtains. They moved the desk so he and Mai could sit in front of the window, looking out at the park and courtyard. The other attendants retreated at Ping's insistence, and he remained at the edge of the room, bringing short documents for Zuko to review and sign now and then. Mai relaxed against him and smiled softly.

"This is nice," she said.

"Yeah." He took a bite of a plum. "We haven't done this in a long time."

Mai sat up and faced him. "Zuko, I wanted to talk to you."

He smiled. "You are talking to me."

She smiled, then her face got serious again. "No, Zuko I wanted to talk to you about what happened the other day. With Katara."

His smile faded. "Oh. That."

"Zuko, I'm sorry about how I acted, but you have to understand how I felt in that situation."

Zuko stayed quiet.

"Zuko, do you understand that I love you? I want to be with you, always, but when you were saying those things to Katara it was like, I don't know, like you didn't feel the same for me. And that scared me."

"Mai...how could you think that?"

Mai just looked at him. "Zuko, you've never said anything like that to me. And I just—"

"Mai, how could you say that? I came back for you, didn't I?"

"After you left! With that stupid note—"

"Are you ever going to forgive me for that?"

Mai stood, cold. "Zuko, just tell me you didn't mean it. Tell me you need me more than you need her."

Zuko stopped. "I—"

Mai turned away. "That's what I was afraid of." She headed for the door.

Zuko put his hand to his forehead. Mai was gone, but his headache had returned. "Ping, what just happened?"

"I think, sir, you were just dumped."

He nodded slowly. "That's what I thought."

He slumped into his chair and once again rubbed his forehead. "What did I do wrong?" he whispered. Ping approached him.

"May I ask, sir, did you mean what you said to Master Katara?"

Zuko's eyes shot open. He had realized the truth. "Yes. With all my being."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: I have no idea whether Master Pakku would ever blush, but I think Sokka and Suki's shenanigans would be the time when he would. Zuko would definitely blush, and I think Katara's embarrassed for Zuko.<strong>

**Unfortunately, this is not the final end of Zuko and Mai's relationship just yet. Just wait a little longer.**

**I know that this is kind of short, but that's ok. I have time now because I'm on vacation, but I'm just about to go back, so I'm going to try to start updating once a week.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't anything avatar or related to it. I just own my ideas.**

**Warning: T for...well, it really isn't mild, but I only drop it a couple of times...language**

* * *

><p>Chapter 3: I'm Celebrating!<p>

* * *

><p>Katara had spent barely an hour in the city before she was lost.<p>

"Why do they have to make cities so…BIG!" she muttered to herself, gritting her teeth. "Well, getting angry about it isn't going to help, anyway," she said, sighing. Her stomach grumbled. _I should probably get something to eat,_ she thought. She looked around, and, spotting a tea and fruit vendor, headed for a table.

The shaded patio was nice, cool enough to be a respite from the sun, yet warm enough to be comfortable. Katara claimed a table and sat down, searching through her bag and finding Zuko's tablet. She looked at it dejectedly.

"What use is money if I can't even find my way?" she said.

"Can I get you something?"

Katara turned, finding a teenage girl standing behind her, ready to take her order.

"A map?" she joked.

The girl blinked, confused.

Katara sighed and glanced at the menu above the pickup window. "A jasmine tea and your fruit of the day."

"Don't you want to know what it is first?" the girl asked.

"Is it papaya?"

"No."

"Then it doesn't really matter." The girl shrugged, then totaled it all up.

"4 dollars and 55 cents, please."

"Is this alright?" asked Katara, offering the tablet. The girl took it, her eyes widening, spotting the imperial seal and instructions carved into it.

"An honored friend of the Fire Lord's, to be treated with respect, by order of Fire Lord Zuko," she read aloud, glancing at Katara. The girl tensed up, then bowed low. "That will be very good, miss. Your order will be right up, and I'll make sure no one disturbs you."

"No, no, that's alright. Let people sit where they like. I need to ask for directions anyway."

"Yes, miss, right away, miss," said the girl, bowing and backing up, holding out the tablet for Katara to take before she turned and hurried away.

Katara glanced around. The shop had gone quiet in the wake of the girl's strange behavior, and almost everyone was staring at her, or pretending that they weren't when they were. "Great," said Katara, glancing at the tablet in her hand. "Just great."

By the time Katara had finished her tea and fruit, a plan had formulated in her mind. She would go to the nearest bank and withdraw some money with Zuko's gift, then buy a map. She would do almost anything to make sure no one knew about the tablet; she wanted to stay incognito on this journey, doing things her own way, rather than sailing through with Zuko's gift.

"Is there anything else I can get you, miss?" asked the girl as she cleared away the plates, keeping her eyes studiously on the table.

"Yes, if you could tell me where the nearest bank is, that'd be great."

The girl looked up, clearly startled. "But…if you have that, you don't need…"

"Jin!" A woman came up behind the girl and placed her hands on her shoulders. "Jin, just answer the nice girl's questions, please," she said, forcing the girl into a bow. "Please excuse my daughter, she is still very young."

"No, it's alright. If I was her, I probably would've asked the same question. I need to go to a bank so that I don't cause such a ruckus when I go someplace, like I obviously did here," Katara explained to the girl, casting a glance around the amazed faces.

"The nearest bank is just around the corner, to the left," said the woman, keeping her eyes down.

Katara stood, then bowed to the woman. "Thank you for your kindness."

She could still hear the amazed whispers as she turned the corner, people wondering why an honored friend of the Fire Lord would ever stoop to bow at a peasant. She smiled to herself.

* * *

><p>When Katara emerged from the bank, she had a shoddy case full of about 50 dollars in Fire Nation money. The rest of what she had taken out was stored in various places around her body, in case she got robbed. The wooden tablet was at the bottom of her bag, ready to be used should she need it at any point, and a map was unfolded in her hands. She was ready to begin her journey.<p>

"Hmm…according to this map, if I continue on this street, then take a left and keep going, I should reach the city limits by tonight! Then I just have to decide which way to go!" Katara folded the map and put it away, then continued on her way.

"Which way should I go? West? East? North? South? Oh, this is so exhilarating! I haven't been this excited about a lot in a long time."

When Katara got to the city limits, the sun was just about to set, and her stomach was rumbling again. Looking around, she spotted an inn and supper club, and headed towards it.

Inside, the dining room buzzed with activity; there were almost no free seats. A woman glided towards Katara out of the blue, nearly knocking her over with fright. On her feet were two wheeled shoes.

"Table for two?" she asked, with a smile on her face. Katara couldn't help but stare.

"What are those things?" she said.

The woman laughed, long and loud. "I call them roller shoes, because I roll all over town with them! They help me keep up with this place! So, can I ask again, table for two?"

Katara looked up, startled. "Two?"

"Yeah, a pretty girl like you has gotta have a hot date tonight, am I right?"

Katara blushed. "Uh, not really."

The woman laughed again. "I'm sorry, honey, didn't mean to embarrass you! Table for one it is then! Follow me!" And with that, the woman rolled off into the crowd, Katara fighting to follow her.

_How does she glide through them so quickly?_ Katara thought.

Towards the back corner of the room, the woman stopped at a small, dark table. "Here we are," she said. "I hope this is okay!"

Katara squeezed into the chair, her back up against the wall. She felt safe, secure, and unnoticed. Exactly what she wanted.

She smiled up at the woman. "This is perfect, thanks!"

The woman smiled back, handing her a menu. "Take a few minutes to decide what you want. My name is Jia, if you need anything, just start waving and calling my name, okay? I'll check back in a few minutes to see how you're doing."

"Jia!" a voice yelled from the pickup window. "Get your butt over here and start doing your job!"

"Yeah, yeah. Don't get your pants in a twist," she called back, then turned to smile at Katara. "I guess that's it, then. I'll be back to check on you." Then Jia rolled out of sight, but Katara could hear her bantering with the man at the pickup window, and she smiled as she turned to her menu.

What she saw there gave her a start. "So expensive!" she muttered to herself. "How am I possibly going to afford all this?" She put a hand to her purse, then smacked herself in the forehead. "Dummy, you have money now. It's not like it was before!"

_Yeah, but if you don't keep an eye on it, that money'll disappear real fast._

Katara sighed. Toph was right; she could be a real downer sometimes, even with herself, but then she brightened. _It'll be a treat for tonight_, she thought._Something to celebrate the beginning of my journey; of this ritual._ As she perused the menu more, she thought back to her fifteenth birthday, just a few short months after the attack on the Northern Water Tribe. She had been thinking about her fifteenth birthday forever, despite the fact that there were no men who were her age in the village. Her fifteenth birthday was a special day, anyway. She had seen other girls go through the ritual, and she knew it lasted about a week, but that was all. No one saw the girl during that time, and the women took shifts, disappearing and reappearing when they were no longer needed. Katara had wanted to know what the ritual was so badly, she remembered, that every time a girl went through it, she had followed Kanna as stealthily as she could. Unfortunately, she was always caught and never given the opportunity to follow again, so loaded down by chores her Gran Gran had given her. She wondered how it was that every woman in the entire village was able to keep the secret about the ritual; they were notorious gossips, and probably couldn't help talking about it when the time approached. But, still no one found out about it until they were a part, and none of the men knew, unlike with the boys ice-dodging. Everyone knew about the ice-dodging.

Katara was roused from her reverie by the return of Jia. She rolled over to Katara, executing a little spin in the process. Katara laughed and clapped.

Jia grinned, too, taking a bow. "Thank you. Now, have you decided what you'll have?" she asked leaning on one hip, a pad of paper and a pencil in her hands.

Katara smiled. "Yes. An order of Komodo sausage dumplings, some sea soup with noodles, and some black tea with leechie flavoring, please."

Jia smiled. "A big order for such a little girl!"

"I'm celebrating tonight!" Katara said, patting her stomach.

"Well, good for you! I'll go put in the order right now, huh? And I'll get you your tea."

"Thank you."

"Back in a flash!" Jia smiled and rolled away, leaving Katara alone again. She pulled out the map and began to peruse the options she had. From where she was, at the eastern city limits, she could travel down the coastline and to the east, roughly retracing the Gaang's path through the Fire Nation. She could see all of her old friends and the places they had all hid in on their flight. Or, she could charter a boat to the north and pay a visit to the island situated in the middle of Azulon's Bay. After that, she could decide from there where she wanted to go.

"Here we are!" Jia's voice startled her out of her reverie. "One black tea with leechie flavoring! Quite an unusual order in these parts!"

Katara sipped her tea, jerking at the scalding heat. "Oh?"

Jia grinned. "Yep. Most people order spice tea or ginseng."

Katara sipped her tea cautiously, after discreetly cooling it down with a little waterbending. "Oh, well I like the sweet of the leechie."

Jia nodded. "Me too. Are you going on a journey?" she said, noticing the map on Katara's table.

Katara nodded. "Just planning where I'm headed tomorrow. By the way, do you have any rooms free?"

"Of course! You should have told me that earlier, I would've brought your dinner to your room!" Jia said, gesturing to the hubbub behind her.

"No, actually, I kind of like the liveliness."

Jia seemed surprised, then she smiled. "Well, then, welcome to the Fire Nation's hottest tavern and inn; it's like this every night!"

"JIA!"

"Coming!" she called over her shoulder. "Enjoy your tea," she said to Katara before rolling off once again into the crowd.

Katara dissolved into silent people watching as she sipped her tea. She was about halfway done when Jia returned with her meal. Everything steamed and cracked; the Fire Nation was all about heat. Katara took out her chopsticks and hungrily dove into the amazing food. But as she let the Komodo sausage touch her tongue, she felt an overwhelming amount of spice and heat; it was like her mouth was on fire!

As Katara frantically searched for something to sooth her aching mouth, even considering freezing some of her tea and revealing her waterbending, Jia set down a small clay bowl on the table. Katara looked up at her, eyes watering, unable to speak.

"Thought you might need this. You don't look like the kind of person who can exactly handle Komodo sausage without some relief." She pushed the bowl towards Katara. "Go on, try it. It'll help."

Katara cautiously reached towards the bowl, picking up the spoon that went with it, and placing a bite of the white, creamy concoction in her mouth. It was cool and slightly minty, and soothed the burning ache from the dumplings immediately. Katara started shoving spoonfuls into her mouth.

"Hold on there a minute, just slow down! If you eat all of it now, you won't have enough for the rest of the meal!"

Katara stopped and set down the bowl. "You're right. Thanks, Jia. What is this, anyway?"

Jia stopped. "Oh, it's just mint pudding. Our secret is that we serve it chilled; really sooths the tongue, right?"

"Yeah."

Jia peered at her. "You've never had mint pudding before?"

"Not really."

Jia peered at her for a bit more, then shrugged and sat down. "Whatever. Spirits, I need a break. Mind if I have one?"

"Not at all." Jia picked up a dumpling with her fingers and plopped it into her mouth, chewing thoughtfully.

"You know, my parents were from the colonies. They never liked real Fire Nation food, all spicy and stuff. They moved to Azulon Island when we were little, and always made us eat Earth Nation food. They never took us out, either, because we would always get something spicy." She pointed at another dumpling, and Katara gestured for her to take it. "But," she said, considering the dumpling before popping it in her mouth, "I always liked the spicy food, so I would beg my parents to take me to festivals and stuff so that I could have treats like fire flakes. They were my favorites. But my mother never wanted me to go."

"Maybe she was sad that you didn't like her cooking."

"Probably, but at the time I didn't know any of that. I was just a kid, you know?" Jia sat there, studying the food on the table. "I told I hated her once because she wouldn't take me to the Midsummer festival. I never lived it down."

"Jia!" A man's voice came from the pickup window. "Get off your ass and start clearing these people; it's two minutes to closing the shop!"

"Alright, alright, ya old hag, I'm going!" She stood up. "Alright, everybody, you know the drill: if you ain't payin', you ain't staying! Now get out!" Jia turned to Katara and held out a slip of paper. "Honey, just take a look at this, it's your total, and I'll be right back." She turned away. "Now what the HELL did I just say? Out! OUT, the lot a' ya!"

There was a commotion as people finished off their meals and were shoved off, some with friendly smiles, some with irritation. This was how shop closing was done with Jia: friendly shoving. When most of the people had cleared out, leaving only the ones staying the night or not done with their meals, Jia started hurridly wiping down tables and busing dishes. Katara glanced down at the balance due and balked.

_This is the price? _shethought. _It's so expensive!_

Just then, she heard a commotion from one of the other still occupied tables. Two men had gotten into a spat which had escalated out of control, and both were now standing ready to go at each other's throats.

"You bastard!" she heard one of them say. "I swore to the spirits I'd never let you do that again, and now you have!"

"Yeah, and whattya gonna do about it, huh? You're just a pussy! A big, fat, FUCKING PUSSY!"

"What did you call me?"

"A PUSSY!" The man flew at his companion, pining him to a wall with his arm over his throat.

"Hey, take it outside you two!" Jia yelled, somewhat distractedly. Katara thought she must deal with things like this on a daily basis.

The man was steady crushing his companion's throat, and Katara was just about to step in when the pinned man overthrew his opponent in a blaze of firebending. When the spots clouding her vision cleared, she saw the man on the ground, his companion standing above him with daggers of flame flowing from his fists.

"That's it." Jia slammed down the plates she had been collecting and stormed over to the two men, ranting as she went. "You two do this shit _every night_, and I'm fucking tired of it. You see the sign over there? It says NO FIREBENDING! Now get your dumb asses out of my establishment!" She picked up the man on the floor by the collar and kicked him in the seat of his pants, sending him stumbling out the door. When she went for the firebender, however, he held out his fists as if to ward her off.

"Oh, no you don't, you bastard." Jia quickly took on the man, dispatching him with a series of blows, then sending him out the door in the same manner as his former friend.

"And STAY OUT!" she said, slamming the door and bolting it behind her. She turned to find Katara on her feet and staring at her. She sighed and rubbed her head. "Sorry about that. How 'bout I show you to your room? It's this way."

Katara nodded dumbly.

* * *

><p>Ping ran through the palace, stumbling one or twice on his way through the endless halls. All the courtiers and attendents made way for him; the Fire Lord's most trusted servant running through the halls was a big deal, and nobody wanted to slow him down. Finally, he made it to the double doors that lead to the Fire Lord's private office. He burst in, coming up on Zuko and Mai kissing on one of the settees in the front room. They had made up a few days ago, though Ping was still unsure exactly how. It seemed to him that Zuko and Master Katara should have been together, but at least the courtiers were happy. Except for that stupid wardrobe guy. He really just wanted to cut the Fire Lord's hair.<p>

Zuko vaulted up from his sitting position, a mask of anger on his face. "Ping! What the hell is so important that—"

Ping dropped to the floor in a deep bow. "The Avatar has come, sir."

Zuko paused in his tirade. "Oh. Why?"

Just then the Avatar himself strode into the room, accompanied by an attendent and Momo, the flying monkey.

"Zuko! What's this I hear about Katara not going back to her tribe?" he said as Zuko bowed from the waist. Zuko seemed surprised when he heard what Aang had come for, and he straightened up quickly.

"Didn't she tell you? She went on a journey through the Fire Nation, and wherever else she would like to go."

"Alone!"

"Well, she is a master, Aang. I'm sure she can handle herself."

"That's not the point! The point is, she's never been on her own!"

"Exactly."

That made Aang pause for a minute.

"She's never been on her own, Aang. She's always had someone to take care of; never a moment to herself. Don't you think she deserves that?"

Aang stopped and thought for a minute. "Well, of course she does. But the last time, she had me and Sokka to protect her."

"Do you really think _she_ was the one who needed protecting?"

Aang stared at Zuko, long and hard, anger growing in his eyes. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Zuko closed his eyes and sighed. "Aang, what would you say if I told you about a girl who was a stranger to her own kind, and took in a stranger who had no idea what was happening in his own world?"

"What—"

Zuko held up a hand, stopping him. "She then traversed the globe with him and her brother, taking care of them both throughout their travels. She trained him how to fight, and taught him how to live."

"I don't under—"

"She herself learned how to fight and became a master at her craft. She was loved and respected by everyone around her, and she almost singlehandedly raised a boy to defeat the greatest evil this world has known in over a thousand years. She, in turn, kept him from dying through her abilities, and, later, defeated another great evil."

Aang was quiet. His hands were fisted at his sides, and he was breathing heavily, trying to contain his anger.

"What would you say to that girl? Would you say she needed _protecting_? Because I certainly didn't."

Aang had finally had enough. "And what the hell do you know, huh? You certainly had enough _protecting_, on you're giant ship filled with guards! What did we have, a monkey, a bison, a boomerang, and a FREAKING UNTRAINED WATERBENDER, and the AVATAR! Who do you think protected us?"

"An UNTRAINED AVATAR." This shut Aang up. "_You_ were just as _useless_ as she was! At least she _tried _to take care of you all! All _you _were concerned about was having fun!"

Aang turned away, having had enough. "You're disrespect for the position of the Avatar is apparent."

Zuko sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I mean you no disrespect, Aang, but it _is_ true. You were as untrained as she. And now, she is as powerful as you in her own right. You must let her do this. You must let her go."

Aang started, remembering back to long ago, when someone very different had spoken those words. It was as hard for him to do then as it was now.

"I will not let her put herself in danger."

Zuko came up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Neither would I."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I think Aang has some serious separation issues when it comes to Katara. I may rewrite the last scene with Aang and Zuko, and maybe add in a scene...hmm...who likes Jia? come on, I think she's wicked fun! And she's not young, really. definitely past her thirties, but I won't explain more. I think I'm going to use her in a fun way, so I don't want to give it away.**

**btw, I would appreciate reviews if you would appreciate to write them (did that make sense? eh.).**


	4. Chapter 4

**Warning: Mild Language and the occasional...well, if you're not already gone, you don't care, do you?**

**disclamer: I don't own avatar, or any other related projects. Just my ideas and the firm belief in Zutara.**

**Another Warning: ALWAYS READ THE AUTHOR NOTES! They're very fun!**

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><p>Chapter 4: Those Pompous Fire Lords<p>

* * *

><p>Katara was laying out her Water Tribe robes to sleep in when she heard a knock on the door. Hastily, she stuffed the clothes under the bed (despite the fact that Zuko was the new Fire Lord, she was still a little wary of the people) before opening the door to find Jia with two glasses in her hands and no roller shoes.<p>

"A little warm milk before bed," she said, offering a glass. "Just one of the superior services we offer here."

"Thanks," Katara said, taking the glass, an idea occurring to her. "By the way, do you happen to also book ferry passages or charter boats?"

"Of course. Where do you want to go?" Katara hurried back into the room.

"Here, please," she said pointing to the island in the middle of the bay. "Though I'm not quite sure what the name is…"

Jia laughed. "You are so not from around here. That's actually Azulon Island, where I grew up."

"Really? But I thought this was Azulon's bay…"

Jia laughed again. "Yeah, Fire Lord Azulon had some serious narcissistic issues. Almost all the Fire Lords have. At one point I think the island was called Houshan Island, and the bay Hou Bay, but you know…Fire Lords." She shrugged helplessly, then laughed, and Katara joined her, thinking with a smile of Zuko's reaction to Jia's casual jokes about the royal family. "Actually, I was thinking of taking a trip there myself pretty soon. You know, my parents still live on the island? I wanted to go see them. You wouldn't mind if I accompanied you on the ferry, would you?"

Katara shook her head, smiling. "Actually, it would be good to go with someone who knows the island. I'm not the best with maps; that was always my brother's job."

Jia smiled. "Well, alright then. You can come with me when I visit my parents!"

Katara smiled, but as Jia was turning to go, she turned again.

"You know, I don't think I even know your name," Jia said.

"It's Katara," she said before closing the door for the night.

* * *

><p>"Zuko, look, I'm sorry about what I said," Aang said, sitting next to Zuko in the quiet of his receiving hall. People had heard the Avatar had come, and many requested to see him, inducing many hours of awkward platitudes spoken between the two fighting friends. Aang had first sat in stewing silence, not speaking or looking at Zuko, then after a few hours had been reduced to stealing guilty, slightly apologetic glances at the Fire Lord before he got his chance to say his sorries to his friend.<p>

Zuko sighed and turned to look at Aang. "Look, Aang, I understand. If my girlfriend went off on some big journey thing without me knowing, I'd be worried to."

"Speaking of your girlfriend, what's up with you and Mai? Last time I heard, you were on the rocks and breaking fast."

Zuko laughed. "Yeah, we were, but I definitely know how to deal with Mai. A few gifts, a few heartfelt apologies, and it was all history. But this isn't about my girlfriends; it's about yours."

Aang sighed, defeated. "I just…I was so worried, especially because she didn't tell me about it before she left. I had no idea anything was even wrong, and then I just up and left her without wishing her luck. I guess I kind of feel guilty about it. I mean, we love each other, and I didn't know about what she was feeling at all. I thought everything was hunkydorey as usual." He absentmindedly stroked Momo's ears, the flying monkey purring in happiness.

Zuko was surprised to hear this; didn't Aang know Katara's moods? Her fluctuations between happy and sad only went so far; didn't he know when it was something more than that? But then he remembered that he had the same problem with Mai. He never knew what she was thinking, feeling, dreaming. None of that.

"A woman's mind is a maze some try not to maneuver, but those that do are highly rewarded. That's what my uncle said. Plus, I think in Katara's case, the time of the month didn't help."

Aang looked at him, confused. "What are you talking about?"

Zuko started. Aang didn't know about monthlies? "You don't know?"

Aang shook his head.

"About girls? And their…monthly…things?" He was uncomfortable just thinking about it. Aang was still shaking his head, and Zuko panicked, thinking he was going to have to be the one to explain it to him, right there, in his receiving hall, with dignitaries waiting just outside the door.

"Sir, are you ready?" came Ping's voice through the door.

"Yes! Yes, send them in! Quickly!" came Zuko's rushed and panicked reply. The more time he had to think, or not think, about the inner workings of womandom, the better.

* * *

><p>Mai did not like what was going on. Not one little bit.<p>

She was standing in front of what might be called a gift in some eyes. Some very strange eyes. It was hideous. It was malformed. It was like a scourge upon the earth, on par with Fire Lord Ozai, in her view. If she had been able to firebend, it would more than likely be dust on the floor, but she couldn't, so she settled for attacking it with her many knives and daggers. She wondered who could've ever picked such an obviously disgusting gift, especially for _her_. But she knew; it was her boyfriend, Zuko, who had picked out the gift to make up for one of his many stupid moments. But she didn't think he'd grasped the concept of _gift_.

The 'gift' was a wardrobe's set of robes, all made from the finest fabrics; hair ribbons, and jewelry. The idea of the gift itself was not a bad one; being the Fire Lord's girlfriend, you had to dress for a lot of fancy events—it was actually a good idea. Or, at least it _had _been, until Mai had taken her blades to them.

What bothered her was not the gift; it was, in fact, the _color _of the gift. Or _colors_, as the case was. The clothes were pink. And green. And blue. And even, a select few of them, orange and yellow. She shuddered at the thought; she only wore red and black, rarely gold or any type of jewelry, she needed to be fast and light for her daggerwork.

She burst into Zuko's office as he was discussing with the Avatar about some Harmony Restoration something, holding up the ribbons of what previously were fine, if multicolored, dresses and robes.

"Zuko! What the hell is this?" she asked angrily.

Zuko blinked. "It's…your gift?"

"Please tell me you did not pick these out for _me_!" she said, throwing down the knot of clothes. Aang stood in stunned silence.

"You don't like them?" Zuko asked innocently.

"IF I _liked_ them, would I have done _that?_ OF COURSE I DON'T LIKE THEM, YOU IDIOT!"

Zuko watched her carefully, then sidled up close to her. She thought he was going to take her in his arms and apologize, say that one of his attendants had bought them and he knew her better than that, would never have approved if he had known. But instead he looked at her strangely and asked, in a very low, gently voice, "Mai, does this have something to do with the time of the month?"

Mai shoved him back. "Of _course_ it doesn't have anything to do with the TIME OF THE MONTH, YOU MORON! WHY THE _HELL_ DO YOU ALWAYS THINK THAT?" Mai was, in fact, one of the few girls whose monthlies were short and relatively painless. This meant that she actually had all of her wits most of the time, and meant Zuko, as they say, was in deep shit.

"So I take it you _actually_ didn't like them?" he said, a little afraid of Mai's temper. This was the girl who had been friends with his sister for 19 years.

"OF COURSE I DIDN'T LIKE THEM!" she screamed. "WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I EVER WOULD?"

"WELL I DON'T KNOW, I THOUGHT THEY WOULD BE A NICE OPTION FOR YOU!"

"AN OPTION FOR _WHAT!"_

"FOR ALL THE STUPID DINNERS WE HAVE TO GO TO!"

"YOU DON'T THINK I HAVE _CLOTHES_ FOR THAT?"

"OF COURSE YOU DO, I JUST THOUGHT YOU'D LIKE SOMETHING NEW!"

"Uh, maybe I should go," Aang said, sidling out of the room.

"SIT DOWN!" Zuko and Mai yelled at him, and he immediately obeyed, actually ending up on the floor.

"I just didn't want to be hear for your fighting…" he mumbled, which caused Mai to spring on him.

"IF YOU'RE THE STINKING AVATAR, WHY DON'T _YOU _FIX THIS?" she said.

"Um, well, okay," he said, getting up. "First, you two should sit down. Away from each other. And stop yelling."

Zuko and Mai obeyed, sitting across from each other in some of Zuko's comfortable seating.

"Now, why don't we let Zuko tell us about why he chose this gift for you, Mai."

"Why does he get to go first?" Mai grumbled.

"Because we all know why _you're_ mad, Mai. You remember, you burst in here screaming about it?" Zuko said, a bit snippily.

"Oh, you just wait, you—"

"Okay!" Aang cut in before Mai could use more inventive terms than 'idiot' or 'moron'. "Zuko, would you start?"

"Yeah. Fine. Okay, so I bought the clothes for Mai to make for being an idiot and a jerk the other day—"

Mai snorted.

"—because I thought she might like them. We have to go to a lot of dinners with foreign dignitaries, and it seems like she always wears the same thing, so I though she might some more colors, you know? I just trying to be nice."

"Okay, that's good, Zuko. Now it's—"

"What makes you think that I need new clothes?"

"—turn." Aang sighed. When these two went at it, they _went at it_. And only a couple of days ago they were kissing like they were going to be together forever! But Mai was already off again.

"I have plenty of clothes suited for meeting foreign dignitaries. Remember, I was the daughter of the governor of the colonies? I met plenty of dignitaries, Zuko. I even had dinner with your _father_ a few times. Probably more than you did."

"Don't bring him into this."

"Fine. I won't. But what makes you think that I would ever need them?"

"I don't know, I just thought that they were nice and that you would like them."

Aang breathed slowly. This was worse than working with the Zhang and Gan Jins. "Okay, Mai, why don't you tell us _why_ you didn't like Zuko's gift?"

"Because it wasn't meant for me." This plunged the room into uncomfortable silence. Mai let it drag on before she got up and sauntered over to the window, arms crossed. "Why didn't I like them, Zuko?" she said softly. "Because they weren't the type of gifts you give to someone you know and love. Someone who you're ready to spend the rest of your life with; someone who you know, inside and out. They were the type of gifts you get any girl, thinking that she'll look at the pretty dresses and just won't see the true unoriginality of the gift. _Not_ someone you love." She punctuated this point by turning and staring directly at Zuko. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. She had some good points.

But that didn't mean he had to admit it.

So, instead, he just sat there in the uncomfortable silence, not saying anything. Mai already knew that she had proved her point, and she just calmly stared him down. The girl could go for days without talking, or even blinking, he believed. Aang sat and fidgeted in the charged silence.

"Will you just _leave_ if you're so unhappy, then?" Zuko burst out, unable to take it any longer.

Mai looked at him sadly. "Sure, Zuko. I will leave." And she was gone.

* * *

><p>Katara was on a boat, on the water, her hair lifting in the breeze. She leaned forward and smelled the sweet scent wafting from the gently rocking waters. It was like she was home again, so close and connected to her element.<p>

Unfortunately, Jia—along with many other patrons—didn't feel the same way. She was hung over the railing, gracefully puking her guts out.

Jia paused in her absolutely deliberate cleansing of the stomach to swig a bit of water and clean up her mouth.

"Why must the sea spirits exact such a sacrifice for passing through on a ship?" she said, directing her question to the heavens. "Wasn't my money enough for you?" she yelled.

"Spirits don't care about money," Katara said soothingly, pushing a cup of a steamy, foul-smelling substance under Jia's nose, causing the woman to gag again.

"What the hell is that?" Jia said, pinching her nose and pushing the substance away.

"It's to help your stomach."

"To do what? Turn itself inside out?"

"Just pinch your nose and drink it." Jia reluctantly took it in her free hand, keeping the other tightly clamped on her nose, and swallowed the liquid. It didn't actually taste that bad, and she instantly felt better.

"What is this stuff?" she wondered as Katara took the cup and wiped it out with a rag.

"It's an old recipe my mother and grandmother used to use for upset stomachs. It smells terrible, but works wonders, right?" she said, smiling.

"Uh, yeah. But how come you're not sick?"

"Katara never gets sick on boats. If she did, she wouldn't have found me at all," came a familiar voice. Katara turned to find Haru standing on the deck of the boat, tugging contemplatively on his mustache and beard.

"HARU!" Katara shrieked, causing Jia to wince, before launching herself into his open arms. Haru was laughing with her as they embraced.

"What are you doing here? And still with that giant furry caterpillar on your face!" she asked, tugging at his beard. He laughed even harder.

"I decided to visit my family in the Fire Nation! I haven't seen them in so long, and the rebuilding of our village is going well, so I thought this was the perfect opportunity!"

"You have family in the Fire Nation?" Katara asked.

"Yeah, I guess so. I don't really remember them so well, but they used to live in one of the colonies awhile back, but moved here for some reason. I haven't seen them since I was two! Now, thanks to Aang, I can go and see them!"

"That's wonderful, Haru," Katara said earnestly.

"So, wait a minute," Jia broke in. "Who is this guy again?"

Haru stepped from Katara's embrace and bowed in the Earth Kindom fashion toward Jia. "My apologies, Miss," he said. "My name is Haru, son of Tyro, leader of the Earth Kingdom mining village to the northwest."

Jia blinked. "Wait, really?"

Haru looked up, confused. "Yes. Why?"

"Because my parents were from the Fire Nation colony right next to there! My mother's brother was the leader when her father died! His name was Tyro!"

"Really?"

"Yeah!"

"So, that makes you two family," Katara interjected. Haru and Jia turned to look at her, then back at each other.

"I guess it does," Haru said.

"So you're my little baby cousin from the Earth Kingdom, huh? My parents always told me about you."

"Did they?"

"Yup. Though you're not so little anymore," she laughed. "Oh! I know, you should come with me to visit mom! That's where I was headed anyway!"

"That would be amazing! I was going to try asking around for the village where you guys lived, but this would be even better! We can catch up on the way."

Jia laughed. "Maybe not. I know mom's going to want to know _everything_, and I don't think you're going to want to tell the whole story twice."

"I don't mind."

"Okay, let me put it this way, then: _I _only want to hear it once." At this very moment, the ferry was pulling into dock on Azulon Island, and Haru and Jia were making their way, laughing, to the gates leading onto the island, Katara following close behind. She was quietly smiling, watching the two cousins joke and laugh with each other. Now, seeing them together, she could really see the similarities, from their slightly tanned skin to their dark hair, and the subtle tint of green in Jia's eyes. They even shared some the same features, like eyebrows and noses. Putting them up next to each other, one could never doubt that they were related, though Jia was several years Haru's senior.

As the group disembarked from the ferry, Katara quietly bowed out of the group and stayed near the pier, watching Jia and Haru catch up on close to 16 years, and more, of family history. She doubted they even noticed she was gone.

For awhile, she just stayed on the pier, enjoying the fresh, water-tinged air that tingled around her, but eventually, she turned and faced the port town, which was more like a city in her standards. The vast port was built on an upward rising hill, and Katara could see the tops of houses as they twisted and vied for the best views of the sweeping bay. She decided to stop into an information center and pick up another detailed map of the city and the island, like she had done in the capital, then move on from there. Her adventure was just beginning.

* * *

><p>Zuko had his head in his hands, lamenting that Mai had walked out on him, again. He had papers spread out before him on his desk, but he just couldn't focus. Ping hovered behind him, ready to clear and sort the papers once he reviewed them, but even Ping could tell the Fire Lord needed a break.<p>

"How about a break, sir?" he whispered in Zuko's ear. The Fire Lord quietly nodded. Ping silently ushered the other attendants out, who thankfully had the good sense to be quiet in the face of the Fire Lord's melancholy. Aang came up to the door as ping was closing it.

"I would like to speak to Zuko," he said.

Ping hesitated. "The Fire Lord's not really…"

"Let him in, Ping," Zuko's voice said, coming through the half-closed doors. Ping moved out of the way and bowed as Aang passed, quietly shutting the door behind him.

Zuko was standing at the window, looking out at his view at the palace and the city below. The official office was in the center of the palace, in a tower, with sweeping views of the city, the bay, the mountains, and the volcano from which the islands of the Fire Nation were born.

"Um…Zuko?" Aang asked tentatively. The air was charged with pent up rage and stubbornness, and Aang did not want to pull the string that would spark a storm of lightening.

"Yes, Aang?" Zuko sighed.

"I just…Well, I know this isn't exactly the right time, but I wanted to ask you how you knew that you loved Mai. That you and she were…boyfriend and girlfriend, I guess."

Zuko turned to the Avatar quickly, squinting at him. "Why do you ask?"

Aang sunk down into the cushy pillows of a low sofa. "Well…because I'm starting to think that Katara and I…"

"Katara and you…?"

"Maybe don't belong together."

Zuko paused for a minute. "What makes you say that?"

Aang closed his eyes and sighed before answering. "You know, those gifts you got Mai? I probably would've gotten almost the same thing for Katara. I don't think I know her at all.

"I had to find out from Sokka that she had left on her journey, when I went to visit him and Suki. She didn't even tell me."

"I'm sure she just didn't want you to worry."

"I guess, but it's more than that. It's just…a feeling I have, I don't know how to describe it. I love Katara, but…I think it took her choosing to look after herself for awhile for me to realize that I love her because she always took care of me, because she was the first face I saw after waking up, and she never left. But now? I don't know if you can call that love, the kind where two souls connect fully and completely."

Zuko sighed. "Believe it or not, I don't think I'm the person to talk to this about. I think Sokka is." Aang shot him a look, and Zuko held his hands up in surrender. "No, seriously. He and Suki are the only two who've been able to last for a long time."

"I guess you're right."

"Or, better yet, you could talk to Katara."

Aang looked at him, meeting Zuko's concerned gaze. "Like you're talking to Mai?"

"Hey, I said I'm not the best example, remember? Mai and I have…problems. Many, many problems."

"I did learn a new trick for traveling in dreams from Avatar Roku,"Aang said contemplatively. "Maybe I can talk to Katara that way."

"If you talk to Katara, I'll talk to Mai, okay?"

"Deal. Though I'm glad I won't have to give that talk face to face."

Zuko winced. "Don't make me think about it."

The pair burst into uproarious laughter, and Ping, sulking behind the door with a glass to his ear, smirked to himself. _At least the Fire Lord is happy_, he thought.

* * *

><p>Elsewhere in the Fire Nation, someone else was happy. He smiled to himself as he held an arrow up and sighted down the shaft, seeing that it was perfectly straight, like the pile sitting to his left, and, he was sure, the pile to his right, which he had not checked yet.<p>

"Hey man, show us your shot!" one of the men yelled to him, waving from in front of a well-used target dummy stuffed with hay. The man smiled to himself again and strung his bow, grabbing an arrow at random from the pile on his left. A perfect way to test. Smirking, he aimed the arrow, sighted, then let it fly. It landed dead center of the target, and the man who had yelled whooped.

"Ya'see?" he shouted. "We can't loose with Tenzin on our side!" The group of men surrounding the small campsite let out a yell of confidence. Tenzin smiled and returned to his work. He would soon have his chance. They all would.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Look, I'm early! WHOOOOOO! My comments:**

**I started the scene with Zuko and Aang (the last one) like a week ago, and then forgot why I was writing it. I hope this is a good alternative to what I was going to write, but who the hell knows? Not me! :)**

**Mai and Zuko, over? Resounding yes. There may be a few loose ends tied, but they are done. Finito. Termino. I hope I never have to write them together again.**

**Aang and Katara over? Eh, not so much right now, at this moment. In the next chapter, though. They. Will. End.**

**Haru Came BAck! WHOOO! (Literally, why I wrote that in the description of this story. Solely for Haru. IF Jet was still alive, he'd be back too, but...well, we all know what happened. Unless you saw that play. Then it was very ambiguous, and I'm sorry.)**

**Plus he's related to Jia! HAHA! (does my enjoyment of having a Haru counterpart come through? Maybe I should pile it on more!)**

**Yes, guy who we know nothing whatsoever about is named Tenzin, as in the name of Katara and Aang's son. YES, I am evil...MWAHAHA!**

**Do I seem excited? It's cause I am!**

**If you care to leave reviews, I care to love them. Plus check out the profile page!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Katara, Zuko, Haru, Aang, etc. However, Jia and Tenzin I do, so suck it brian and mike! **

**Warning: Rated T for mild language, situations, and things that only people who've gone through puberty should know**

**Check PROFILE CHECK PROFILE CHECK PROFILE CHECK PROFILE CHECK PROFILE CHECK PROFILE Check**

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><p>Chapter 5: How Does this Sound?<p>

* * *

><p>Katara was in the bar of the inn she was staying at, enjoying a soothing cup of water and watching guys and girls flirting. She was particularly enthralled by one girl, obviously not interested, and her verbal lashing of the man who was trying to "pick her up". It was funny to watch their movements as she tried to get him to go away, and he refused to take a hint, and as Katara watched it ended with a drink on his head. She giggled.<p>

"People watching?" said a voice to her left. She turned and looked at it, meeting the eyes of an over-muscled, under-brained, obviously aristocratic guy who was smiling at her with slightly overlarge teeth. He leaned forward, trying to get in close. "You know, my friend's dad is Admiral Chan of the Royal Army," he said, speaking low as if they were in a room that was actually loud.

"_Really_?" Katara said, sarcastically raising her eyebrow. The guy still didn't get the hint.

"Uh-huh." He leaned in closer. "He's got a big house right down the street. If you want, I could show you around."

"Show me around your friend's dad's house?"

"Actually, his uncle's."

Katara nodded. She tightened her grip on the water cup; she had always wanted to do this. "In that case—"

"Katara! There you are!"

Katara turned, startled to find someone who knew her name in this place. Hurrying through the crowd towards her was Haru. He waved, then placed his arm around her when he got to the bar.

"Hey, Kat," he said. Katara looked at him, then at his hand on her shoulder, then back at him, raising an eyebrow. He, in turn, looked pointedly at the guy standing at the bar beside her. She lowered her eyebrows in acquiescence. Haru turned back to the guy. "Hey thanks for keeping Kat company. Y'know, some guys would just swoop down on her like she was a helpless piece o' meat."

"Yeah…" the guy said vaguely, already scanning for a new girl to go for. "A piece of meat." Katara and Haru both watched as he sauntered toward another girl, already going in for the kill. Once he was safely away, they both relaxed, Haru taking his hand from her shoulder.

"Thanks," she said, leaning her head in her hands.

"You looked like you might need some help."

"No kidding!" She laughed. "Although, I was about to throw my drink on him. That probably would've solved the problem."

Haru laughed as well. "Well you can throw it on me, if it makes you feel anymore accomplished."

"Really?"

He leaned forward. "As long as you make sure to dry me off after," he said, smiling. Katara's breath caught. What was happening here? She had never flirted with Aang, or anyone really, before. Is that what she and Haru were doing? Because, she had to admit, she kind of liked it.

But she was with Aang! And Katara, despite the fact that with Aang she had never felt this quickening of her heart, or the fluttering in her stomach, was not going to just pretend like they weren't together on this trip. She would not cheat on him, even if it _was_ just flirting. Flirting could lead to a lot of other places, she knew from Kanna and Suki's stories. Which is why she slid away from Haru and set her glass down on the bar.

"I-I appreciate the offer, but I think I'm a little tired. I'm going to go to bed." She hoped her voice hadn't betrayed her.

"Oh!" Haru piped up. "That's what I came here to talk to you about! Jia and her mom said you could crash with them!"

Katara felt a rush. She really had made true friends, and she did have someone who wanted her. But she couldn't go. Not right now, with her heart aflutter over Haru. She shook her head.

"No, thanks, I've already paid for the night anyway. But maybe tomorrow night." When her stomach stopped pleasantly twisting.

Haru nodded. When it came to saving money, they both understood. "Maybe. Would you like me to walk you to your room?"

"No, that's alright," she said nervously. "I'll be fine on my own."

"Okay. I'll see you in the morning, Katara."

"See you then."

She hurried off into the crowd, aiming for the safety of her room.

* * *

><p>"Okay, how does this sound? Katara, I just don't think we're right for each other anymore. I think we should break up. Or stop kissing. Or—whatever it is we're doing, we should stop. How was that?" Aang asked, directing his question to the monkey perched on top of the mirror he was using to practice his break up.<p>

"Like she's going to throttle you if she could." Aang turned to find Zuko in the doorway, his hair down and his clothes rumpled. "Trust me. I speak from recent experience."

"You and Mai…?"

"Yup. And she did, in fact, try to injure me. Not quite sure whether she tried to kill me, but injure was definitely there."

Aang sighed and turned to the mirror, looking at Zuko's reflection. "I'm glad I'm doing this in the Dream Pavilion of the Spirit Realm, then. Neither of us can touch the other."

"The Dream Pavilion?"

Aang nodded. "Yup. It's a place where the dreams of people touch the spirits, calling them if they need a certain one, that kind of thing. The Spirit Realm and the Dream Plane aren't actually the same thing, but if I sit in the Dream Pavilion, as the Avatar, I can connect to whomever's mind I want. Kinda cool, huh?"

Zuko nodded in the mirror. "Yeah. If you weren't using it to break up with a girl whose miles away."

Aang groaned. "That's the problem! I'm not even sure if I _can_ break up with her! I have no idea what I should say! I barely know if we're even together in the first place!"

Zuko sighed through his nose, then sat down beside Aang. "Ok. First thing: Keep it simple. No lies, excuses, nothing. Just say, 'I don't think we should be together anymore.' That's it. None of that 'or whatever we were' part. That's a _bad _idea. The kind that can get you on Katara's hitlist if you're not careful. And between you and me, I would not want to be on that girl's hitlist." Zuko counted on his fingers a minute. "But as long as you keep it simple, you should be fine. Katara's angry stage ended, like, two days ago."

"Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about that." Aang turned to him. "What are you talking about?"

Zuko felt the color drain from his face, and desperately looked around for Ping. Why was that man never interrupting when he needed him to? Gods, he hated karma.

"Zuko?" Aang prodded.

"Yes." Zuko cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Uh, well, see girls—girls have this thing. This thing that occurs every twenty eight days. In most cases. Uh, Katara's is pretty regular. But, um…Well, some girls react differently to it. Sometimes, they get really irritated by everything. Or, um, sometimes they just want something special to eat or drink. Or sometimes, they just don't react at all."

"But _why_ does this happen?"

"Why?" Zuko panicked. He didn't actually know all that much about women's monthlies; it was never really a concern of his, but now? He had to explain it to the _avatar_? _Spirits,_ he begged, _help me!_

"Um, look, all I know is that once a girl reaches a…certain age, she gets these…monthlies. And then, every month for a really long time, she has to deal with them."

Aang looked pensive. "Huh. But you said Katara is over hers?"

Zuko looked into the mirror wistfully. "Yeah." Zuko knew Katara's monthlies like the back of his hand. She'd have a day or two of just general annoyance at everything, then two or three days of anger and annoyance that could strike fear into any Armidillo Lion, then one day of general melancholy, then it would be over. Just like that; just like clockwork. Unlike Mai. Zuko never knew when she got her monthlies, or how they affected her. He didn't know whether they made her angry or sad or irritated; she just kept it all inside. It had worried him at times, but then it would all break free like the rising waters of a river from an embankment. He wondered how Aang had never noticed Katara's regular cycles every three weeks. But, if you didn't know about monthlies, maybe you wouldn't notice the mood swings it brought with it. He shrugged inwardly. Living with a little sister and her two friends, he had quickly figured out that monthlies would be something he would have to deal with his entire life, and had learned to adjust accordingly. Aang had just never had that opportunity. Lucky him.

* * *

><p>It was about two hours past sunset when Aang started to meditate and make his way to the Dream Pavilion inside the Spirit Realm. Katara was a Water Bender, raised to rise with the moon, and she had always been the kind of person to prefer late nights, even during their travels for the past two years, when Aang and his monk training had demanded they wake early, with the first winds of the new day on the horizon. But he figured two hours would be enough, and he wouldn't be waiting in the Dream Pavilion for too long for Katara's consciousness to show up. He was right.<p>

Almost as soon as Aang arrived at the pavilion, Katara laid her head down on the pillow and was sucked immediately into a deep, all consuming dream. It was this dream that Aang pulled her out of.

"Aang?" she said groggily, shaking her head and blinking, like she had just awakened. Which, for all intents and purposes, she had. "What is it? Where are we?"

"We're in the Dream Pavilion, Katara," Aang said. "Or, at least, I am. You're in whatever the Dream Plane's equivalent is."

"The Dream Pavilion?"

"Yes. It's a place where the Spirit Realm touches the Dream Plane, so I can talk to you."

"Why didn't you just come into my dream on the Dream Plane.

"It' s a little complicated. As the Avatar, I am the bridge between worlds, but the Dream Plane is different. It is not where dead spirits go to rest; it is only for the living, but it is also a very private place. I can't just go around messing with everyone's dreams."

Katara nodded. "I think I understand. But why did you need me?"

Aang paused, letting the moment grow, then sighed. "Katara, we need to talk."

He knelt on the ground and folded his legs as the monks had taught him.

"Maybe you should sit."

* * *

><p>Katara sat bolt upright in her bed and put a hand to her head. She could not believe that the Avatar, the most powerful bender in the world, had just <em>broken up<em> with her in her _dreams_. And he had done it so that she wouldn't come after him. The chicken.

Katara steamed with anger. How could he do this to her? How could he have lead her on for two full on years and then just throw it away in a heartbeat? He didn't love her anymore? He didn't know if he ever had?

"Then why the hell did you kiss me, dumbass?" she said to herself. She was miffed at the brushoff.

"He probably found out he was gay after looking at Zuko's ass."

_Well, he does have a nice ass._

_This is so not helping._

Actually, Katara thought, maybe it was. Maybe the key to getting over Aang was a good rebound. Another man, one good looking enough to make that idiot sorry he hadn't thought she was good enough for him. But who?

She would have to go to the bar to find out.

A half an hour later, when Haru found her, she was on top of a table. Drunk. Deliriously drunk. But, also, dancing very, very seductively.

_I wonder what she would like if…._ Haru stopped himself. That was the Avatar's girl up there. The one who could kick his ass. Although, they both could kick his ass. Haru licked his lips, thinking of how sexy a woman who could whup him was.

_No! Bad Haru! Baaaaaad!_

This was the moment Katara spotted him from her perch. She began to lurch over to him.

"Haruuuum," she slurred, nearly falling off the table. Haru neatly caught her in his arms, and let her go, only to catch her as she fell again, unstable on her feet. "Thhhanksss."

"Katara, what are you doing?"

"Daaancing! Aang broke up with me, sooooo I thought I'd go daaaaaancinng." Here she hiccupped. "Itsssss ssssssso fun, Haruu, you should try it."

"Maybe I will. Later. First, I've got to get you back to your room."

"Nnnoooooooooo! I've gotta frind a rebound!"

"A rebound?"

"Yeeeeeeah—" she hiccupped and giggled. "'cause Aang broke up wiiiiith me."

Finally what Katara had been saying clicked with Haru. She and Aang had broken up. She was fair game. Everything Haru had ever pined for came to mind.

"I have the perfect rebound for you."

"Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Ok, yes, wicked short update. No Tenzin. He'll be in the next chapter. And yes, I did skip all the break up scenes. I do not enjoy them. Actually, I can't really visualize them right now, so...yeah. sorry?**

**YAAY for drunk Katara! She's so fun. And Haru...hee, I'm evil, ok? I tempted you with Zutara, then gave you Harutara instead. Don't worry, the Zutara's coming. Remember, this is mostly a story about Katara's journey (although it doesn't seem that way right now. But nothings happened to her...yet.)**

**I'm sorry if Zuko and Aang's period scene doesn't seem quite as awkward as it should. I'm a girl. I've lived with my mom's period all my life, and mine since I was twelve. It is no longer awkward. It is just irritating. I like to think Katara's pretty regular, and that her period has a very specific cycle (Like mine. TMI, IK). I kind of think she has a day of light cramps, then two or three of heavy flow, then one day of just sadness, cause her period's like no one else she knows and all that jazz, then she's good. I'm pretty sure after those two or three days of heavy flow, she's done. I know, I've thought of this way to much. Anyway...**

**Oh, By the way, unless there is some magical twist of time and I actually have a life outside school and rehearsal next week, I will not be updating. FYI.**

**Yup, that's it. Leave love? I love when you leave love. thanks to AnnaAza, patty cake rocks, Lilako, & whaleshavewings for leaving love last time. (See, it does have benefit!)**

_**Check profile**_ DO IT!


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't Avatar or any related characters or settings. However, I did make up Jia, Tenzin, and any new characters, and my own ideas, so: HA!**

**Warning: There's...implications, but actually nothing really bad this time.**

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><p>Chapter 6: Information Headaches<p>

* * *

><p>Aang was meditating that morning as the sun came up on one of the uppermost balconies in the palace, letting the soothing morning breeze wash over him. As the door slide open behind him, he turned to find Zuko with a surprised expression on his face.<p>

"Hi Zuko!" he said brightly. "I didn't know this was your balcony!"

"Aang…what are you doing, exactly?

Aang turned back to the sunrise. "Morning meditation. Would you like to join?"

"No thanks." He heard the paper door behind him slide close. A moment later, he heard it slide again.

"Aang?"

Aang turned and peered behind him, seeing Zuko in the doorway. "Yes, Zuko?"

Zuko coughed into his hand, peering around nervously. "Um…how did you…do it? Break up with Katara, I mean."

Aang deflated a little, his happy mood slowly siphoning away. "I just…told her. It was hard."

"Why?"

"Because…Katara…" he paused for a minute, formulating his reply. "Katara found me in that iceberg. She and Sokka were the first two faces I saw after a hundred years frozen below the sea. We connected. She cared for me, and I…I loved her, in a way. I still do. But I don't think I…_love _her, you know?

"The hard part wasn't telling her that I didn't think we belonged together in that way. The hard part was more explaining to her that I still wanted…her. I wanted Katara, happy, smiling, caring, in all the ways she had been when we traveled together. But I didn't want her and me, together forever. If that makes sense."

Zuko nodded behind him, then realized that Aang couldn't actually see him. "Yeah, it does."

"I don't think she took it particularly well."

"I don't think I would've, either."

"You're probably right. Why did you ask, though?"

Zuko paused for a minute. "When I decided to break up with Mai, I knew it wasn't going to end well. I knew that she and I would not ever be able to be anything close to cordial—at least, not without a few years between us. But I never once thought it would be hard because I loved Mai. Because I couldn't think of my life without her in one sense, like you would Katara. You do love Katara; I know that, but I never loved Mai. Not even in a semblance of what you feel for Katara. Everyday we were together, I had to actively make my mind think about her. I don't think that's how love should be."

Aang let the rising sun bath his face. "No. I don't, either."

* * *

><p>Katara woke with a splitting headache, and the sun in her eyes.<p>

"Oh…" she moaned, putting up a hand to block the sun.

"Hey, Kat," said a voice, emanating from a body conveniently blocking the sun from her tired eyes. "Here, this will help." A cup appeared, with some sort of liquid in it. Katara carefully tried to take it, but almost dropped it. "Careful." The body extended a hand and helped her guide it to her lips, and she quickly drank the foreign liquid. Once her headache started to subside a little, she figured out that the voice, and the body it belonged to, was Haru.

"Haru, what happened last night?" she asked, putting a hand to her forehead.

"You don't remember?"

Katara shook her head, then quickly stopped when she felt a flipping in her stomach. She did not need nausea on top of everything else.

"I…I remember Aang breaking up with me, and going down to the bar, but everything after that's…a blur." She peered up at him. "You were there?"

Haru contemplated what to tell her; that she had been dancing on the bar, looking hard and fast for a rebound, that he had volunteered. But he knew, in the back of his mind, that telling her would only lead them farther to nowhere. He and Katara weren't supposed to get together, he knew that—but last night, thoughts of what he had always wished to happen couldn't help but jump to the front of his mind. And he had to admit, he wasn't particularly proud of what happened. But if Katara wanted to forget about it, he would, too.

"Yeah, I brought you back to your room. You were in pretty bad shape."

She smiled up at him. "Thanks Haru. You're a good friend."

"How about you come down to Jia's family's house, huh? They're all dying to meet you!"

Katara sat up and put her hand to her head, letting out a moan. "I don't really think their dying to meet me in this state."

"We'll get some breakfast first, then? That usually helps me with my hangovers."

"You party?"

Haru smiled conspiratorially. "Maybe just a little. Here, let me help." He reached down and offered his arm for a support to Katara, still obviously unsteady on her feet.

"Haru, I never would've guessed."

"I didn't used to. But a lot of things have changed since Sozin's Comet."

Katara made a face. "Don't call it that. It makes me think of the egotism that started all this."

"And Azulon Island and Azulon's Bay doesn't? Or what about the 'Great Gates of Azulon'?"

"Maybe you're right. But that doesn't mean it shouldn't change. Did you know this island used to be Houshan Island? But the Fire Lord renamed it."

"Not unsurprisingly. But that's just what I mean; before, no one would've blinked an eye if a Fire Lord named a city or a bay after himself. Now, everyone thinks it's narcissistic. It's a new world we live in."

"It is. Isn't it wonderful?"

Haru laughed. "Yes. Yes it is."

* * *

><p>Tenzin was having a hard time sitting still.<p>

He hated these meetings, the ones meant to plan out what they were going to do and how they were going to do it. He knew they were necessary. He just hated having to attend them.

And it wasn't event that he hated the planning in itself; he was more apathetic toward that, and then excited when concrete plans fell together before him. It was this undecided shuffling back and forth from half-formed plan to half-formed plan that bored him. These meetings did absolutely nothing without new intel, but they were important for morale, so here he sat, fidgeting uncontrollably, and trying not to start to pace. All for the sake of the men outside the curtain.

His mother would be absolutely horrified with him. He was supposed to be able to focus, to breathe and meditate for hours on end, as she had taught him in the way the monks taught her. And he could. If he tried.

But this was not a time he wanted to try. And his mother's spirit had better be grateful, because he was doing all this for her.

_More grateful if you just live your life quietly and tried not to stir up trouble._

Tenzin shushed his traitorous mind. He knew what his mother had wished for him; like her, to marry a Fire Nation citizen (preferably firebender) ensuring protection and survival for at least one more generation, as her family had done for a thousand years.

_I guess I have too much Fire Nation in me, mom_, he thought. _I can't just sit and watch this go by._

"And some new intelligence. From the southern port of Azulon's island." Tenzin perked up; he loved new intel, for it always had the possibility of solidifying plans.

"What is it?"

"There's been some talk of a girl carrying around the official seal of the Fire Lord. The first reports we had of it were in the capitol, but now there was one instance in a bank in the port town."

"What does this mean?" one of the men asked.

"It means we have an opportunity, boys, right on our doorstep. Let's start planning!" Tenzin stood and made his way to the center of the tent, scouring the map of the Fire Nation set up there. The other men moved about him, and the planning began.

* * *

><p>Katara and Haru had just arrived at the house when the commotion began. Pots and pans being dropped tossed or thrown on the floor—it wasn't clear which—and the sound of Jia's voice shouting back and forth with one of a slightly lower tilt, but still distinctly familial.<p>

"Why do you keep your kitchen like this, Mom? It makes no sense!"

"I could ask the same of you and your books! And your suitcase!"

"You went through my suitcase?"

"I had to find your records!"

"I _told_ you, they were in the bedside drawer!"

"Well, I just wanted to make sure!"

Katara turned to Haru. "They really are related, aren't they?" she asked with a wry smile.

A loud crash was heard. "Where do you keep your big saucepan?"

"I only have the one!"

"You only have one saucepan!"

"I only cook for your father and me!"

Haru ventured farther into the house. "Hello? We're back!" he called, tentatively. A man emerged from a sliding doorway on the other side of the hallway, the opposite direction from all the clamor from the pots and pans.

"Oh, hello Haru! And this must be the lovely Katara we were talking about last night!" he said.

"Pleased to meet you, sir," Katara said, bowing gracefully.

"Oh, no need for the 'sir', just call me Yasu," he said, bowing back. Another loud crash emanated from down the hallway. "Oh, dear. Come in here, quickly. Jia may bring down the house soon." Katara and Haru were quietly ushered into the adjacent room, where the sounds of pots and pans crashing against the floor and the two matched voices yelling back and forth were not as easily heard.

"So," Yasu said as they sat. "Katara, what brings you to our humble island and township?"

"I'm on a journey. A ritual journey, of sorts."

"Ah. The best kinds: vague forays into the abyss hoping for greatness to emerge. Let me tell you a secret: when you don't know what you're looking for, sometimes you find something even better."

Haru and Katara shared a glance. "I'm sorry, I don't think I understood what you just said," she said sheepishly. Yasu laughed.

"Oh, it's quite alright. You will when you need to. Or maybe you won't."

Another glance was exchanged, and Yasu again burst into laughter. "I'm sorry. I'm told I'm a bit philosophical."

"Yasu, honey, do you hear what she's doing to our kitchen?" said the voice Katara had heard earlier, as the woman who belonged to it walked in. She was like an older version of Jia, and Katara could see were Jia's mannerisms came from.

"Yes, my love. It's just about the same as what you're doing to her things."

"I'm just putting them in order!"

"Mmhm." The woman put her hands on her hips, then sighed, admitting defeat.

"Well, at least I'm doing it quietly."

"Were you? I couldn't hear your quiet rummaging over all the shouting back and forth."

The woman gave him a look. "Now you're just being snide. And who are our guests?"

"Well, of course, you met Haru last night."

"Yes, I do remember that. I'm not senile yet."

"And this is Katara." Katara smiled and bowed at the woman.

"Pleased to meet you," said Katara.

"Oh, it is good to meet you, dear. And I'm Chisuzu, though you can call me Suzu or Suzy if you like; everyone does."

"Thank you, Suzu."

"Jia!" Katara jumped at Suzu's outburst. "Your friends are here! Better get breakfast on the table!"

Another clatter of pots.

"I'm coming!" Jia pushed through the door, keeping a steaming pan well away from her body. "Here we are. Komodo Rhino steak, and I didn't know how everyone took their eggs," she said, distributing the portions of meat onto the plates situated in front of them.

"Over-easy, honey," said Suzu.

"Sunny-side up," said Yasu. Haru chimed in with his own preference, and Jia finally turned to a sheepish Katara.

"I've…never actually had fresh eggs," she said, shrugging. In the south, they didn't have fresh eggs every day, especially not from a bird! And when she and the Gaang were traveling around, there really were no opportunities for egg hunts. It was just how her life had gone.

Jia blinked. "Huh. Well, then, um…how about scrambled? Everyone like's scrambled. With a little pepper and cheese, it'll be delicious!" And with that, Jia left, still carrying the pan, and mumbling about how to season the eggs. It was only a few minutes before she was back again with the steaming pan, dishing out perfectly seasoned eggs—but not before a few more crashes and swears had emanated from the kitchen.

"So, never once an egg?" asked Jia as Katara contemplated the yellow foreign substance on her plate. The Komodo Rhino steak was a much safer option, but it seemed Katara wouldn't be able to get away with not eating the eggs.

"Not, like, on their own, if you know what I mean." Katara wasn't even sure what she meant. "I think I've had them in other foods before."

"You think?"

"Well, I've never made anything with eggs in it," she said, picking up a piece of scrambled substance with her fork (another new thing for her), looking at it cautiously.

The room fell quiet and everyone watched as Katara carefully placed the egg on her tongue, chewed, and swallowed. Anticipation charged the air.

"So…?" Suzu said after a moment.

"It's…different," Katara said, taking another piece. "I like it." The whole room relaxed.

"I just can't believe you've never had eggs before," said Jia.

"It's probably because she's from the Southern Water Tribe, dear," offered Suzu. Katara froze, fork halfway between her mouth and her plate, her lips hanging open, offering a wide view of the cavern of her mouth.

"Something wrong, Katara?" asked Yasu.

Katara coughed and put her fork down, trying to act natural. If they knew she was Water Tribe, what else did they know about her? And how did they know?

"What—uh—what makes you think I'm from the Southern Water Tribe?" she asked awkwardly.

"Oh, Haru told us," said Yasu. Katara turned to Haru and shot him her deadliest look. Considering how powerful a bender she was, the look was, in fact, quite intimidating.

Oh, wait, hold on," he said, holding up his hands in surrender. "I didn't think it was that big a deal; they'd already figured out you were Water Tribe."

Katara blinked, then turned to Yasu and Suzu. "How?"

Yasu chuckled. "Well, 'Katara' isn't really a traditional Fire Nation name. It kind of sticks out."

Katara thought back to Sokka, and his time mastering the sword. His master had said almost the same thing of his name. She grinned a little sheepishly.

"I guess I should get a new alias."

"It won't be much help, dear. You're…well, you don't look Fire Nation at all. Or Earth Kingdom, really. You're better off just as yourself," said Yasu. "Besides, you can probably take care of anyone you meet."

Katara shot another look at Haru. "Hey I didn't say anything this time," he said.

Yasu and Suzu both laughed. "See what I mean?" Yasu said. "You know, didn't have to keep it a secret. We're okay with you being Water Tribe. And with you being a bender."

"Yeah, but is the rest of the Fire Nation, Dad?" Jia asked, standing up and taking their plates. "Most of them don't support what Fire Lord Zuko's trying to do; they can't see past the bad economy and their pride. No wonder you kept your origins a secret."

"That's very true. The Fire Nation isn't good about changing perceptions. Fire is not really as much of an adaptable element. It burns hard, strong, and fast. But perhaps the worst is coming to an end, and those who are angry will be burned out soon enough," said Yasu.

"That's the way of the Fire Nation. That's why I told Jia to run her inn like she does. She didn't believe me at first, but now she understands," said Suzu.

"How do you mean?" asked Haru.

"The people of the Fire Nation are resistant to change. But to run an inn, sometimes things need to change. So I told Jia to act as any cliché innkeeper would, keeping a tight schedule, getting yelled at for running food, breaking up fights. That way, anything she changed would not go unnoticed, but would be unimportant compared to the things that did change."

"And, unfortunately for me, my mother was right," said Jia as she reentered. "Although, sometimes it does feel a little wrong to perpetually argue and gripe with my husband," said Jia.

"You're married?" asked Katara.

"You're husband is the chef at your restaurant?" asked Haru. He had obviously learned more about Jia in the past night.

"Yes and yes." Jia laughed, "I'm both married and working with my husband."

"Are you sure you can take a vacation, dear?" asked Suzu.

"Oh yeah. He's visiting his parents this week, so the inn is closed down. I have the week off," Jia said.

"What were you thinking of doing?" asked Katara.

"Well…I don't know. I was thinking of traveling the island, seeing a little more of my home than I usually do."

"What about you, Katara? What are you thinking of doing to continue this journey of yours?" asked Yasu. Katara threw up her hands in mock frustration, laughing at the situation she had gotten herself into.

"Does everyone know my backstory before I tell it?" she asked. "I guess I'm going to travel the island, too."

"Oh, you two should travel together!" said Suzu. Katara and Jia shared a glance as an awkward silence descended.

"Uh, mom, I'm pretty sure Katara's journey is more of a solo thing. Plus, when I said travel, I meant hike. I don't think the two of us are meant for the same journey."

"Although that doesn't mean that I don't like you, Jia," said Katara.

"I understand," said Yasu. "You both must go your separate ways. But how about you do that in a little while, huh? There's still plenty of hours left in the day."

* * *

><p>Jia left first, saying that she wanted to get a head start on her hiking, and that she could always come back to catch up with her parents. Katara and Haru spent a few more hours in the house before they both left, Haru to go to the market to pick up some fresh berries for dinner, and Katara to continue on her journey. They said goodbye at the split in the road, and headed their separate ways into the oncoming afternoon.<p>

* * *

><p>"Is that her?" came the whispers in the trees, the rustling leaves transmuting the intent of their occupants. Tenzin winced.<p>

_Quietly,_ he thought from his own tree, shifting slowly to prevent the leaves from rustling. _You have to be quiet!_

A girl with dark brown hair was walking through the trees, her gait authoritative. The boys in the other tree were trying to figure out whether she was the one they wanted.

_We can't make any mistakes on this_, thought Tenzin.

Just as he thought that the boys had realized the girl wasn't who they wanted, a net dropped down on her, obscuring his view. The boys in the tree dropped as well, and dragged her off the path, kicking and screaming the whole way. Tenzin winced again. They were going to pay dearly for this mistake. But where was the girl?

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I'm a bad, baaaad girl. I actually had most of this finished last thursday, but I never got around to finishing it. So here it is, late. BTW, I started the scene w/ Aang and Zuko and promptly forgot where I was going with it later. Do you notice?**

**Leave me reviews and love!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Avatar rights or copyrights or whatever. I only own a couple characters, and my ideas in my crazy head.**

**Warning: Rated T for some intense scenes, and one or two instances of...language**

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><p>Chapter 7: I need you to do me a favor<p>

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><p>It had only been an hour, and the woman they had captured was still giving them a headache. Or at least, Tenzin had a headache. He wasn't so sure about the rest of the men trying to extract information from her, but he knew she was extremely irritating to at least him.<p>

"Look, just tell us if you know about the girl!" one of the men said.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" she retorted.

"The girl!" he shouted. Tenzin decided now was probably about the time that he should step in, if only to minimize on the ache growing in his forehead.

"She's probably telling the truth," he said, stepping up. "It's not like we've given her a very good description."

"So what should we do?"

Tenzin eyed the woman. She was about 30 or 35, with long brown hair caught up in a high tail, something usually seen in working women of the city. She had long pants and a vest over a simple shirt. Probably service industry.

"I'll take care of her. Leave." The men gave him a look, but at his stern gaze they shuffled out of the tent, and he pulled a chair up to in front of the woman's own, straddling it backwards. She glared at him and made a show of pulling at the ropes that tied her hands behind her back.

"Look, I'm just trying to find out something. Trying to find someone."

"So you abduct innocent people and tie them to a chair? Sounds like the way to do it to me."

"We didn't mean to take you. We were looking for someone else, you just got in the way!"

"Well, I'm sorry I foiled your kidnapping plans!" she shot back.

Tenzin leaned back in his chair, keeping his forearms firmly rested on the back. "What makes you think we were going to kidnap her?" he asked.

The woman snorted. "I'm sorry, I must have misinterpreted the half dozen hulking henchmen who jumped out of the tree above me. I'm sure you meant that to be sweet. I can see it, now."

Tenzin rubbed his forehead again. "Well, you aren't wrong." He stayed quiet for a long minute before rising from his chair and moving behind the woman.

"What are you doing?" she asked, nervously shifting.

_Well, it's not like you gave her a reason to trust you_, he thought.

He started to untie the bonds around her wrists.

"Starting over from scratch," he said. She warily watched him as she rose. "My name is Tenzin," he said, bowing shallowly. "Welcome to my home."

'The woman watched him for a long while before finally relenting. "Jia."

"Jia. A nice name," he said, smiling.

"Yeah."

"Well, Jia, I'd like to ask you a question. Have you seen a girl, a young woman, we believe her to be around 16 or 17? She would be carrying a pass and papers with the royal seal on them."

"Yeah, and I would be to. Passes all have the royal seal, it's custom."

"Ah, yes, but this young lady also has the official seal of the Fire Lord. Have you seen a girl like that? Or anyone out of the ordinary, for that matter."

Jia crossed her arms. "And why do you want to find her?"

This woman knew something. Tenzin smiled sweetly. "The pass is illegal," he lied. "A forgery. A very good one, at that, but still a fake. The woman is a wanted fugitive of the law."

"What did she do?"

He had to be very careful about this one. If the woman knew someone, and she didn't match the descriptions of the crimes he gave, she would shut down. Dismiss any information she had as a mistake. He thought carefully.

"She's been making these passes and selling them, very quietly, but not unnoticed. Not many passes are endowed with the ruling authority's seal. We've only recently caught up to her. It's a very lucrative business, you see, and she moves quite frequently with large sums of cash."

"We?"

He blinked and smiled to himself. "Yes, myself a small contingent of elite agents, a subsect of the Fire Nation Army. Very hush hush. We're dedicated to tracking down individuals such as this woman." Now he had her. He could see it in her eyes, in the way she shifted her feet and wouldn't look at him.

"Do you have information that you want to tell me?" he asked gently.

Jia looked at him with knowing eyes. He had to be careful with this one; she was smart, and one wrong step could cost him days of precious time.

"There was a girl…She stayed at my inn."

Now he had her.

* * *

><p>Zuko stepped off the flying contraption and into Ba Sing Se with a content sigh escaping his lips.<p>

"Happy to be on the ground again, sir?" Ping asked. Zuko shook his head.

"Happy to be on _this_ ground." The Earth Kingdom was one of his favorite places to visit; most of the time, he could travel largely unnoticed and unaccosted—either because of his disguise, the fact that no one he met knew what the Fire Lord actually looked like, or because in Earth Kingdom culture, it was rude to pry—he wasn't quite sure which. But it didn't matter; all that mattered was he could travel without all the fanfare of the Fire Nation if he wished.

"Ping, what does my schedule look like for this afternoon?" he asked, deeply inhaling the scent of Earth and flora present in this Nation.

"Well, sir, it's pretty empty, save for a dinner with the Earth King and a few representatives from the Water Tribes two hours after sundown. We weren't expected until much later, but the flying machine met with favorable winds. Would you like me to schedule something a little earlier?"

"No, keep my schedule open. I want to visit an old haunt of mine."

"Shall I ready the escort, then?"

"No, I'd like to go without really—um, being recognized. I'll see you later tonight, yes? Let's say, sundown so I can prepare for the dinner." Zuko started to walked away, towards the exit he knew would take him where he needed to be.

"Ah, sir!" Ping called after him.

"What?" an exasperated Zuko returned, facing his attendant.

"Your, um, your robes, sir," Ping said, somewhat sheepishly. He did not like to point out his master's misgivings, but sometimes he could be so hotheaded.

"Yes, what about them?" Zuko asked, looking down. "Oh." He was still dressed in his royal finery, the robes he had worn for the formal exit from the Fire Nation for this trip. But looking up at the time, he saw he only had a few hours left until sundown, and he wanted to spend as many of them as he could in Ba Sing Se. He looked at Ping, seeking his faithful attendant to come up with some brilliant plan to help him with his needs. Then he had an idea.

"Ping…" he said sweetly. "Come here…"

"Yes, sir?" Ping asked as he approached. Zuko put his arm around him.

"Ping, I need you to do me a favor," he said, very quietly.

"What is it, sir?"

"I need you to give me your robes."

* * *

><p>"Would you like to come with us?" Tenzin asked Jia as the men of his group prepared to head out farther along the road. It was just sunset, and they hoped to catch the girl, Katara, as Jia said, before she made camp.<p>

"Why? Wouldn't I be in the way?" Jia asked. "Can't you just let me go?"

No. Tenzin could not let Jia go, much as he liked her—she couldn't be trusted once the Fire Lord discovered what had happened to the girl. She knew who he was, and what he looked like, and the location of his camp—not that he couldn't move, but he would rather keep her close than anything else. Once they captured Katara, they could decide what to do with Jia.

"No, not at all. You'd help us identify her if she came down the road or was setting up camp. You're the only person who's ever seen her."

Jia looked thoughtful for a minute, then she nodded. She still believed what Tenzin had told earlier was true.

_Shame on you for lying!_ The voice of his mother in his head made Tenzin grit his teeth and struggle to keep his composure. He motioned for Jia to go ahead of him so she wouldn't see him grapple with his emotions.

_I thought I raised you better than that! And why are you lying anyway? Why couldn't you have just settled down and been safe? The war is over! When you had kids, you could've brought their airbending talents to the eyes of the Avatar and—_

_And explained how we lived in fear of the Fire Nation and its Lords for a thousand years! That is why I am doing this: for you, mother. So that no one else has to live in the same fear that you did! _Tenzin argued back.

Tenzin's own personal dialogue was not something he wanted to reveal to the others of his group, and so he kept it quite. Here, his past was unknown—he was simply the leader who had brought them all together—the one who had combined the group of people he had seen suffer under the previous Fire Lord, ones who had been suffering, like his family, for generations.

These were the people who had banded together for the cause, though they didn't quite know exactly what the cause was. Sometimes, in the dead of night, his mother's voice invaded his head, telling him what he already knew—_it's wrong to do this, it's wrong to deceive them, it's wrong to tell them that their supporting what they're really not._ He didn't like it, but he knew it was true.

He was a great leader; everybody said so. Determined, intelligent. A brilliant strategist. They thought he was fully committed to the cause, and he was. It just wasn't the cause they believed it was.

His inner monologue was interrupted when they arrived at the area where the men had gathered; packing up their things for the night, preparing for a (hopefully) successful evening. When the men saw Jia, their conversations hushed, the hustle and bustle that would've contained careless banter without her resolving into careful preparedness and strategic professionalism. No one wanted to give the secret away.

_She's such a nice lady, and your lying to her. You're lying to all of them._

To quiet his mother's voice, Tenzin held up his hand and raised his voice.

"We leave in twenty minutes!"

He could hear her disapproval in her silence.

* * *

><p>Zuko wandered through the streets of Ba Sing Se with a hood over his head, like he used to, long ago. Or was it really only a few months? He couldn't remember—the days felt like weeks, the weeks months, the months years. It had been such a long time—so many different changes had occurred in the city. While it had always been freer than most of the other nations, now Ba Sing Se whirred with a newfound hope. Refugees were leaving, returning to their villages. Soldiers were coming home; the economy—one of the few to have suffered very little during the Hundred Years War—was stronger than ever. The Fire Lord liked to see that—it gave him hope.<p>

He finally had arrived outside the Jasmine Dragon, which was positively humming with good energy. Zuko smiled. His uncle would have it no other way.

"Can I help you?" asked a petite girl as he walked through the open doors into the warmth of the tearoom. Zuko removed his hood and cloak and handed it to the girl. "Oh! Fire Lord Zuko! Right this way, please."

He shouldn't be surprised that the workers at his uncle's tea shop knew who he was; there was a giant portrait of him and uncle, along with Katara, Aang, Sokka, Toph, and Suki on the wall. Uncle Iroh surrounded by the saviors of the nation. Zuko wondered briefly when Iroh had had that commissioned, and what he had used as reference for Zuko, since he knew he had never sat for a portrait for Iroh.

"Zuko? Oh, it is you!" Iroh rumbled over, all smiles and shaking bellies, accompanied by the petite serving girl, and—a baby. Zuko wondered what that was about. "I thought maybe Mayling was seeing things, she does get so overexcited!"

"I do not, Iroh!" the girl, Mayling, said. She placed her hands on her hips for emphasis. "And besides, how could I not recognize your own nephew? You talk about him all the time!"

Uncle let out a great belly laugh, and the baby he was carrying giggle her baby giggle along with him. "That is very true—you caught me there. Here, take Hope while I talk with my nephew, would you? And get us some jasmine tea." Uncle pulled out a chair and sat down after handing off the child.

"Uncle, whose baby was that?"

"Baby! Hope is no baby; she's nearly one! She's a friend's daughter, delivered by the Avatar and Katara—mostly Katara, as I hear—on her way into Ba Sing Se after her mother crossed the Serpent's Pass."

Zuko raised his eyebrows. 'That's quite a story. Any of it true?"

"All of it! Her parents were refugees with no papers, and Aang took pity on them, and the group helped them through the Serpent's Pass. Do you remember how we traveled to Ba Sing Se?" Uncle asked, his eyes going all dreamy.

Zuko shuddered at the though—his uncle, _flirting,_ with a woman with a unibrow and a giant mole. "I'd rather not, thank you very much."

"Neither would I! That horrible tea!" Zuko rolled his eyes—of course his uncle would remember _tea_.

"Actually, you know, I've been thinking of expanding my business, first to the other rings, then to the traveling teamen at the docks, then—who knows!"

Zuko smiled. "Good for you, Uncle."

"Ah, yes. And now, what are you here for, nephew?"

"I was in town, couldn't I come to visit my favorite uncle?"

Uncle eyed him. "Right after you set down in the flying machine? And where did you get those clothes? From your assistant?"

Zuko looked down at the table nervously, then at the portrait on the wall.

Uncle leaned forward. "Do you want to talk about her?"

Zuko snapped toward his uncle. "What are you talking about?" he asked frantically. His uncle just watched him.

"You seriously think that I haven't noticed? I'm old, Zuko, not blind."

"_I_ don't even know what you're talking about!" Zuko said frantically. He could feel nervous beads of sweat moving down his forehead. Why was Iroh's reaction making him feel this way? He was overreacting surely, but he still couldn't figure out why these stirrings in the pit of his stomach were acting up. That usually only happened when something he didn't want Iroh to know about, but the old man had a way of making his darkest secrets come out.

Iroh was watching him carefully. He glanced at the portrait that hung on the wall and sighed.

"I heard that you and Mai broke up," he said, still regarding the picture. "That must have made your advisors angry."

Zuko rubbed his head, thinking of the headaches he had gone through trying to explain to the advisors about his and Mai's personal business. "They weren't happy, yes."

"As your advisor, I wouldn't be, either. Mai was a like to the colonies—her family was also well regarded in the entire Fire Nation."

Zuko watched his uncle carefully, then turned his attention to the wood grain on the table.

"As your uncle, and someone who loves you, I am happy." Zuko's head snapped up. He was surprised. Iroh smiled. "Let's go into the back and have a talk. Mayling!" he called. The girl came gracefully over, a tray of teas in each hand. "You can handle everything out here, right Mayling?" She nodded.

"Of course, boss."

"Then my nephew and I will be going to the back. We have important business to discuss."

"Alrighty then!" the cheerful girl then slipped away between tables, dropping teas as she went.

"Come," said his uncle, leading him into a bright, warm kitchen, and further into the back. "Let's talk."

* * *

><p>Katara was walking through the woods quietly, enjoying the relative silence of the forest. The wind rustled through the trees, the birds faintly moving about in the branches. She breathed in and out the sweet serenity.<p>

She had been walking for awhile, her eyes growing used to the ever-growing darkness as the sunset, and her accustomed to the sounds around her. It was when the top rim of the sun finally set down against the horizon that her ears picked up something not quite right with the sounds of the forest. It sounded like faint whispers, like people moving stealthily through the trees, making the occasional out-of-place sound in the silent forest. When she picked up the sound of songbirds calling through the trees, she knew her feelings of trepedation were not unfounded—songbirds didn't sing that late into the night. Carefully, she placed a hand on her waterskin and popped the cork, using waterbending to make sure not a drop spilled or went to waste. She also expanded her senses, feeling the pull of the water in the trees, the plants, the air. When the men dropped down out of the trees, Katara was prepared, water out and ready for a fight.

* * *

><p>Tenzin cursed silently as he watched the girl tense. She slowed slightly, a hand resting on her hip, then her waterskin. He watched the barely perceptible twitch of muscles as she uncorked the bag. But by that time, his men were already in position, already making their way out to ambush her.<p>

_It doesn't matter_, he thought to himself. _There are too many of them for just one waterbender to take alone._

His mother's voice stayed silent, her disapproval apparent even in his mind.

When they dropped down around her, his men, he saw the look in their eyes go from fierce pride to fear in the space of a few milliseconds. Katara, the girl, already had water out, was already bending, taking out his men in droves as they went after her. In the space of only a few seconds, ten of his men had been taken.

"Shit," he cursed. Why hadn't he known this could happen? Why hadn't he known that the girl could have been a Master? This was only going to end one way.

Tenzin reached behind him and into the quiver on his back. He carefully felt the feathers of the arrows, silently distinguishing one from another, never daring to take his eyes off the fight in front of him. The girl was still going strong, despite some of his men's repeated charges at her. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, Tenzin pulled an arrow and carefully nocking his arrow and taking aim. He waited a few more seconds until the girl was in the perfect place, then let loose.

* * *

><p>Katara thought she heard the slight sigh of the air as the arrow flew towards her, striking her square and strong. She arched around the shaft as it pierced her back, the water she was bending falling, useless, into a puddle beneath her as she herself fell into it, facing the night sky just as the stars were coming out. As her vision darkened, she thought she saw a man's face over her in the darkness.<p>

* * *

><p>Zuko remembered his uncle's voice, calling his name in the growing darkness. He could hear it, distant against the mind-numbing shot of white-hot pain in his back and his chest.<p>

_What's happening?_ he thought faintly as the darkness grew greater.

_What happened?_

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I'm a bad, baaaaad, person, I know. But I'm already starting work on the next chapter? :_/**

**So, anyway, the reason we're all here-Zutara. Okay, weeeell, it's the reason I'm here. I only tagged Katara in this cause, mostly, the story revolves around her. But I'm pro'ly gonna change it to Zutara. YAY ZUTARA.**

**And YAY intrigue, I hope? Yeah? Let me just supply the questions rumbling through your mind: What's Tenzin's motivation? Why does he want Katara so badly? And why the hell does he keep talking to himself with his mother's voice? And what's up with that whole Haru thing? Are we ever going to see him again? And Jia? What the hell? Are you really that stupid? And what happened to Zuko? Why does he have pain in his back? Is he just old? WHAT?**

**If you have answers to any of these questions and you leave them in a review, I'll give you a cookie. ^_^**

**C'mon, I love reviews. I think I would even like them if they berated me for being so late. (No promises, though)**

**Anyway, now I'm done. Yay?**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of avatar, except anything created in this story. HAH.**

**Warning: rated T for...eh, i actually don't remember if there's any 'language' in this chapter at all. but you've read everything so far, so why stop now? :D**

* * *

><p>Chapter 8: Someone Other than the Voices in his Head<p>

* * *

><p>Katara blinked her eyes against the light. They were candles, only half-light really, but they still sent a shooting pain into her head. She tried to breath deep, but stopped when another pain shot through her abdomen. She gritted her teeth and swore under her breath.<p>

"Well, what a mouth for such a pretty young girl," said a voice beyond the darkness of her eyelids. Katara sighed and steeled herself for the onslaught of light, then opened her eyes. What sat in front of her was a young man, around 20 years old, dark hair and light skin, sitting in front of her. The candles were scattered around the tent, the man cast in relative shadow as her eyes adjusted to the light. His arms and legs were crossed; slouching against the seat, he gave the air of wired relaxation, like he was ready for anything. His wiry build made her wonder about his origins.

As she scanned him up and down, he did the same, smirking. She was beautiful, long brown curls of hair cascading down her slightly browned back. Tanner than both the people of the Fire Nation of the Earth Kingdom, her striking blue eyes stood out and grabbed attention. She was in Fire Nation robes now, which just brought attention away and down her delicious curves, like he imagined her Water Tribe robes would, the eye cascading down her body like water down a fall. He licked his lips and smiled.

"You're lucky you're a healer, you know," he said cockily, standing up and circling the room slowly.

"And why is that?" she whispered huskily, her voice tinged with pain.

He chuckled quietly. "If you weren't a healer, I would've hit you somewhere else, and you probably would've lost a limb." She stayed quiet.

"So you're an archer, yes?"

He regarded her quietly. "How did you know?" he said, facing her. He watched her muscles tense slightly in her arms. Katara was sampling him, feeling the water in his body, the flow of chi.

"You're build," she said quietly. "The way you move. You know as a healer, I have an acute awareness of different types of bodies. And—" she jerked her chin, bringing the hands clasped behind his back under her control and forward to just in front of her face. "Ah. Yes. You're callouses," she mused, studying his hands as he struggled against her hold. She smiled to herself. It wasn't a difficult hold, for her, but it was strong—she was strong.

She let him struggle a bit more before releasing him, watching him carefully through the curling strands of her hair as he rubbed his hands and wrists.

"So," he said carefully, moving farther away from her. She smirked. As if that would save him. "You really are a Master. Wing!" he called out the tent. A small, stocky-built man entered the tent. Katara got a glimpse of morning light.

"Yeah Boss?"

"Secure her head and fingers, please." He was watching her as the smile drained from her face. The man, Wing, approached her and took out some metal braces, one for her head, and another for her hands. He snapped them into place. Katara flexed her hands, testing the limits for movement. Not much, but still enough to stop the man if he came at her with a lethal intent. He and Wing exchanged nods, and the Wing exited the tent.

He crossed his arms and stared at her. "You know, I saw that."

"Saw what?" she asked.

"That twitch. The movement of your muscles as you flexed." She lifted her chin—as much as the brace would allow.

"You're lucky I didn't make him tighten them."

"Why didn't you?"

He leaned in close, opening his mouth, then closing it and backing quickly away. He didn't want to tell her about the real reason, the voice in his head that sounded like his mother, telling him to be kind. "Why not another question?"

She paused, considering. "Who are you?"

He smiled. "Tenzin."

"That's a name. That's not who you are."

He paused, then turned to face her. "Do you know what Tenzin means?" He started to circle the tent again. "Defender of the faith."

Katara sat silently, waiting for Tenzin to continue. He shook his head, deciding to move on. He didn't want to tell her.

But then again, he did. He wanted someone, anyone, to know the truth behind who he was and what he wanted.

_That's guilt_, his mother whispered.

Someone other than the voices in his head.

He started again. "Do you know what the Fire Lord did for all those years? What that family did?"

Katara had the graciousness to look downward in what seemed like shame. He wondered why, wondered what her connection to the Fire Lord was.

"I have an idea," she whispered.

He snorted. "An idea. Well, I suppose you would. Being from the Water Tribe. But what the Fire Lord and his soldiers did to you is nothing compared to what he did to his own people, to the Air Nomads, too.

"He slaughtered them. _Executed_. Killed. Anyone who had the audacity to present a threat, educators, scientists, _librarians_. He created an entirely new system of thinking, all based around him and his _pride_. He even killed anyone who wasn't full-blooded Fire Nation and looked it. _The Fire Lord did that_. All for pride and purity."

Katara waited, patient. He had circled around to her face again and was looking into her eyes, which had turned reflective like still water. It was enough to drive him mad, though he thought maybe he was halfway there already.

"You would've been killed, you know. For your eyes." She stayed quiet. He turned away and continued his stroll. "And yet, you're friends with his grandson, his son. It boggles my mind."

"Zuko is not like that," she said, her voice now fortified from its previous painful state. He had made her mad, he could hear the strength in her voice.

"And what makes you think that he isn't? Can you say he hasn't betrayed you? That he himself hasn't done some horrible things?"

Katara stayed quiet, and Tenzin stayed where he was, gazing at her back, at the muscles of her arms and shoulders tensing and uncoiling with her futile attempts at movement.

"No," she said finally, and Tenzin moved to look her in the eye. "No, I cannot."

"Exactly, the whole family is ev—"

"But I can say that Zuko has fought it. Fought his good for years, and fought the temptation of bad ever since he decided to take the road less travelled in his family. I can say that he has made mistakes, and I can say that he has made sure that if he makes the same ones as his father, and his grandfather, he will be punished. I can say that he fights the evil everyday, that he—unlike his family—has the best interests of every person in the world at heart, including his people. I can say that he can be, and will be, one of the greatest Fire Lords this nation has ever seen, and I know it is all true. People make mistakes; Zuko is trying to make up for his and his family's."

Tenzin could see the strength shining in her eyes, the clear-minded resolve and churning anger beneath the calm exterior. She was like a riptide in the ocean, calm and serene on the surface, but below, strong enough to kill if you weren't careful.

"That's a beautiful speech. I can see why he gave you this," Tenzin said, carefully pulling out the pass, which had been strategically scattered with some of Katara's blood. It would be something disturbing to send to the Fire Lord. Katara eyed him carefully. "But it doesn't change what his family did. What he will have to atone for." Tenzin turned and made to exit the tent.

Just as he opened the flap, though, Katara's voice came from behind him. "You talked about the Air Nomads before."

Tenzin let the flap fall shut and turned to face her. "What?"

"The Air Nomads. You mentioned them before, during your tirade. Why?"

Tenzin tensed slightly. The girl was almost as good as him at picking up hints, but he wouldn't give her the satisfaction. "They were part of the factions slaughtered."

"Yes. As well as waterbenders and earthbenders from the colonies and from the Tribes. But you didn't mention either of those."

"I guess I just don't consider them slaughtered since many survived and fought back." He turned again to go, and this time made it out of the tent safely.

_You wanted to get caught_, his mother said, an annoying buzz in his ear.

"Well that wasn't suspicious at all," whispered Katara, leaning her head back on the brace holding it in place and closing her eyes gratefully. She would have time to ponder the strangeness later; now, she needed to rest.

* * *

><p>As Tenzin excited the tent, he shook his head at the feelings rising up inside of him. He had wanted to tell her, had wanted her to know. Of anyone, she could understand. He wondered if she was part of the group that helped the Avatar save the world; he had heard stories of a Master Waterbender who could pull water from the air and plants, who could even control the human body. But he had met another waterbender like that long ago, one who had started him on his long quest for revenge. That was also about the time his mother had started to make herself vocal in his head.<p>

_Because that was when you needed me to._

_What are you, my conscious?_ Tenzin thought bitterly.

_Maybe. It seems you're not going to listen to me any other way, though._

_Why do you want me to stop this? It's all for you!_

_Because it's not right. For a hundred years, we fled. We escaped and kept ourselves safe. Do you think this is what my Father would've wanted? My Grandfather?_

_They're dead._

_So am I. But you know the real answer; I taught you that, Tenzin, I know you remember. We are peaceful people—kind, forgiving. Do you think its any mistake that the Avatar who saved the world from the Hundred Years War is an airbender? We are all like this; it is in our nature._

_What if I don't want to be like that?_

_Then you are fighting your own self, which is why you are so conflicted. But the question is not whether you want to be like that. The question that has you fighting so hard is whether you are like that, isn't it? How much of you really is like the Air Nomads before you, the ones who escaped, who lived peacefully, secretly passing down their arts and beliefs. Can you be as strong as them? Can you keep our people alive? Can you be part of something so great?_

"Just STOP!" Tenzin yelled aloud, clutching his head. The entire bustling campground came to a complete halt in only a few seconds, which was when Tenzin realized he had spoken aloud. Everyone was staring at him, and he had a moment of panic, then one of clarity.

"Stop putting up the tents. We're moving," he said. Some of his men approached him, ready to question his decision, but he held up his for them to stop. "We're moving to another location that she won't be able to figure out. One with no communications, one far away from anywhere else, where we can have her roam and gain her trust. Get the healer. We're moving tonight."

He turned and whirled away.

* * *

><p>Zuko awoke to faces hovering over him. He could see the outlines of people hovering over him, his uncle, Ping, and a healer, he thought. Their blurry faces and the light behind them made him shut his eyes in protest.<p>

"Fire Lord Zuko? Sir? Sir, are you all right? Can you hear me?" Ping started, pulling forward and leaning him close enough that Zuko could feel his breath on his face. He sighed and opened his eyes.

"Yes, Ping, I can hear you," he said. Ping started and leaned back.

"I-I'm sorry, sir, but I was just worried about you."

"Yes, well thanks. But what did actually happen to me?"

"You passed out," Iroh said, keeping a placating hand on Ping in his agitated state.

"Yes, but why?"

"Well, that's what I'm trying to figure out if you would. Just. Stop. Moving," said Yugoda, forcing him down onto the bed and holding him there with a stern gaze. It was then that he realized he was no longer in the tea shop; now, he recognized the high ceilings and dignified paintings of the Earth King's Palace. He must have been moved to his quarters while he was out.

"So, Yugoda, what's wrong with him?" asked Ping.

"I don't know."

"Why not?" Ping looked slightly panicked at the idea that the Fire Lord could be injured or sick, and no one could tell him what was wrong.

"Because I haven't done anything yet. Now, if you can't stop asking questions and give me some silence, then I'm going to have to ask both of you to leave."

"Let's go, Ping," said Iroh, pulling the panicked attendant away. "We'll leave you in Yugoda's capable hands, nephew!" Iroh called as he exited.

Once they were gone, Yugoda wiped her hands and nodded her head. "Good. Now we can get started." She bended some water that was in bowls on either side of Zuko's head, and slowly it began to glow with the signature of healing. "Now just sit back and stay still." Zuko did as he was told, and Yugoda placed her healing hands on him. He felt the energy of the water, the connection to his own chi as Yugoda poked at prodded at him gently, all the way from his forehead, down the scar marking the center of his chest.

"Hmm," she said eventually, letting the water slide back into the bowls. "Very interesting." She began to pace the room.

"What's interesting?" Zuko asked from his place on the bed. He propped himself up on his elbow, not sure whether he was allowed to get up or not. If Yugoda was anything like Katara, he did not want to incur her wrath.

"Oh, you can get up now," Yugoda said offhand as she circled back around. "What's interesting is that there is nothing wrong with you. Absolutely nothing wrong."

"Then what happened to me?"

"It's not what happened to you. It's what happened to Katara."

"Katara?" Zuko asked. "How does she figure into all of this?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out," Yugoda replied. "But I think I have an idea."

* * *

><p>The light across Katara's eyelids let her know that she had received company in the dark of the tent. Carefully, she opened her eyes, trying not to be blinded. But when she opened them, she found all of her hard work to be in vain. The sight came upon immediately made her want to shut her eyes again.<p>

"Hama," the gritted-teeth greeting that came from her sounded more like a swear.

"Hello, Katara," the woman replied. Katara opened her eyes to find Hama standing in front of her, smiling evilly.

"How'd you get out of prison?" she asked.

"I helped her escape," Tenzin's reply came from a dark corner of the tent, and Katara wondered how he had entered without her noticing. "We needed a healer on board, and Hama was one of the first people who supported my vision." He moved to stand beside her. "I owe her a loyalty. As do you, as I've heard."

Katara gritted her teeth again and struggled against her bonds, wincing at the biting pain in her wrists. Tenzin pulled up a chair to sit directly in front of her.

"Why don't you tell me about it?" he asked, watching her.

"I'd really rather not," she said.

"I don't think I was talking to you," he said. "Hama? Why don't you tell me the story of you and Katara's acquaintance?"

Hama's laugh was creepy, grating and biting. She was behind Katara, now, and the young waterbender didn't like to think of what her elder was going to do. "What a curious little group they were! Coming into my inn, snooping through my things. I almost thought of throwing them out, they were so close to my secret." Hama leaned in. "But then they revealed who they really were; from the Water Tribes, and I just couldn't resist. Finally, a young apprentice to teach my craft to." Hama ran her fingers over Katara's cheek. "Already almost a full Master. Just a few more techniques to learn. Have you applied them well, my chickie?" Hama whispered in her ear.

Katara was having a hard time coping with Hama's taunts; she was already exhausted and in pain—the tears that were starting to fall from her eyes, she reasoned, were not unexpected.

"Oh, now," Hama purred. "Still so guilt-ridden, even after all this time." She leaned in close to Katara's ear. "They're _firebenders_, Katara. _Filthy, _all of them. Not worthy of their own bodies. Taking away their free will is what they—"

It was then that Katara had taken all she could. Gritting her teeth against the pain, she twisted her legs up and across in an arc while still seated and strapped to her chair. Hama flew to the other side of the tent, and Katara froze some ice around her with a few flicks of the fingers. The assault had launched Katara's chair into the air, and she landed so that now she faced the side of the tent which Hama was frozen to.

"Yes," she spat, tears now flowing freely. "I was your willing apprentice—learning from you techniques that have kept me alive. But you know what, Hama?" Katara asked, slowly pinching her fingers together behind her back, cutting off the blood flow to Hama's brain by squeezing the arteries at her neck through bending. "You were never really a good enough waterbender to pass judgement on me, or anyone else. You were weak. Mediocre. And I _am _stronger than you, and I will not share in your choices." And with the last statement, Hama slid to the ground in a faint, and Katara let go of her control on her, relaxing into the chair, thoroughly exhausted from her actions.

She heard quiet applause beside her, and looked through slitted eyelids at Tenzin.

"Well, that will teach me, won't it? I thought maybe I should secure your feet."

"It wouldn't have made a difference."

Tenzin looked at her, surprised. "And why wouldn't it?"

Katara opened her eyes and stared him down. "Because if you had, my only option would've been to kill her." It was true, the only thing she could've done with her movement fully restricted was to slowly and undetectably squeeze Hama's arteries until the woman was either dead or suffered permanent brain damage.

Tenzin stood and walked to stand directly in front of Katara. "So if I treat you like an animal?" he asked, leaning in with his hands on each armrest beside her.

"I will respond accordingly," she stated coolly.

Tenzin smirked. "Well, then. It's a good thing that I plan to treat you with the respect deserving of a Master," he said quietly, watching her eyes flutter helplessly shut. "Right after we move," he whispered, carefully removing the needle that he had stuck into her arm to distribute the medication that had knocked her out. He capped the needle and walked briskly out of the tent, calling the first person he saw to collect Hama and leave her outside the closest police office.

"We won't be needing her services from now on," he remarked. "We have a new healer."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: HAH! It's only been like a week...almost...I think...?**

**Anyway... let's narrate characters thoughts for this week, yeah?**

**Zuko: I'm barely in this chapter at all. *pout***

**Yugoda: get over it. I'm barely in it, too. But I have the brilliant explanation that will tie that whole fainting thing up!**

**Zuko: it wasn't fainting. Fainting is girly. I passed out.**

**Yugoda: Yeah. Sure.**

**Tenzin: SHUT UP. ALL THESE VOICES IN MY HEAD ARE MAKING ME CRAZY! AND I HAVE A BRILLIANT PLAN! *Evil Laugh***

**Hama: Ow...Shit, did I just get replaced as the badass waterbender who can control people?**

**Author: Nope. That already happened in the show. Now it just happened again, cause Katara's more awesome. BOOM.**

**Katara: I'm a badass. I know. Suck it, Hama. Anytime, anywhere. i can literally take you with my hands behind my back. AND I DON'T NEED NO STINKING FULL MOON! WHAT!**

**teehee...anyway, read and review, please.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I don't anything Avatar related, except my ideas...**

**Warning: I actually don't think there's any need for a warning! OMG!**

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><p>Chapter 9: Too long since I've seen the sun<p>

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><p>Yugoda had been combing through the Earth King's library for hours, Zuko following obediently behind. At first, she had started out calm, diligently but peacefully searching through the books. Now, though, she was quite agitated, with books being searched an thrown every which way when they didn't have what she wanted in them. When they did, they were thrown at zukoo, quite forcefully, forcing him to catch and redistribute on the pile in his arms. It was only after two hours of Yugoda's increasing agitation that someone from the library ran up to them.<p>

"Please, Ma'am!" he yelled, running up to Yugoda like a madman. "Please, ma'am, you can't do that to the books. Please you have to leave!" By this time, Yugoda had reached the end of her row. Anxiously, she went around to both sides of the shelf, then scanned the rows next to it.

"Are these all the texts that you have on the Water Tribe and waterbending?" she asked, slightly angrily. The librarian cowered in fear.

"Y-yes," he stammered. "It's the most extensive collection in the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom combined."

"It's lacking. You should tell that to your superiors." With that, Yugoda pushed passed him and sped toward the entrance, looking like a woman with a mission if he had ever seen one. Zuko hurried to keep up with her, but cast a look behind him at the distraught librarian, who was now mourning all the books that had been carelessly thrown to the floor. He felt a little bad for the man, but didn't risk staying to help him. Yugoda still scared almost as much as Katara.

"So, Yugoda, have you figured it out?" he asked when he caught up to her, precariously balancing the giant pile of books in his arms while walking and talking. This could end very badly, he could tell.

"I think so. I will call your attendants and Uncle, as well as Master Pakku, to explain to them my theory," she said.

"Master Pakku?"

"If this has to do with Katara the way I think it does, then he will want to know."

Zuko could feel his heartbeat speed with the thought. What could this possibly have to do with Katara that Master Pakku would have to be present to hear the news? Nothing good. Nothing good at all.

When Katara woke up, she was lying in a cot. Her hands were free, as well as her legs and head. A bowl of water and some covered rice sat beside her.

"So he really did mean it," she said to herself as she sat up, then clutched her head against the massive headache that attacked her.

"Yes. I did mean it," a voice came from the side of the tent she was in. Tenzin was sitting there, watching her. "And that rice will help with your headache. An unfortunate side effect of the drugs I gave you."

Katara cast a glance down at the table the bowls were sitting on.

"Chopsticks?" she asked casually.

"Oh, yes," he said, getting up and walking over to her. He placed the chopsticks on the table and crouched down in front of her, so that now she was looking down at him. "Forgive me?" he asked.

Katara watched him carefully, studying him, his eyes, everything. He had said it in such a casual voice, she thought he meant for forgetting chopsticks. But in his eyes she could see a quiet desperation, a plea for her to forgive him for something more. More, she thought, than just capturing her and tying her up. More than this whole organization against Zuko; more than his taunts of Hama. She couldn't decide whether she wanted to forgive him for all that, nor whether she was capable for forgiving him for what he really meant, so instead she picked up the bowl and chopsticks and commenced eating.

Tenzin sat and watched her awhile, presumably waiting for an answer. When it became clear she wasn't going to, he moved back to his seat.

"You know," she started. "I could probably kill you right now."

"I know you won't," he said.

"What makes you so sure?" she asked, absentmindedly bending the water in the bowl.

"Because you're stronger than that. Than to just lash out in revenge at those who caused you pain. Look what you did to Hama."

She turned back to her food. "I threw Hama into the side of a tent."

"Yes. But you could've killed her. You're better than that. To just lash out in revenge."

"You already said that."

He looked at her, considering. "Because it's true."

Katara put down the now empty rice bowl and slowly stood from her cot. Halfway off the cot, her legs gave out, the pain in her back making her arch as she fell to the ground. Tenzin was out of his seat as soon as he saw her legs start to give. As she arched her back and fell, he caught her in a gentle grip. She was whimpering softly, and small beads of sweat were visible on her brow.

"So," she ground out. "If I hadn't been a healer, this wouldn't have happened." She was breathing heavily. Slowly he tried to shift her in his arms, but she winced and moaned. "Where's Hama?" she asked. "I need a healer."

"Hama's gone," Tenzin said, brushing the hair away from her face. "Back to where she belongs." Katara winced again, grinding her teeth.

"Too bad. Even if I don't trust the woman as far as I can throw her, I know she wouldn't let her star pupil die."

"Is that a possibility?"

"By the amount of time that this has taken to heal? Perhaps."

"Is there anything I can do?" he asked anxiously. He could feel the sweat on his brow. What would he do if she died? He wasn't quite sure how his plan would suffer, nor, in fact, how he himself would react. She winced again.

"The water," she said, her voice gruff with the pain. "Put me down on my stomach and get the water, then do exactly what I tell you." Tenzin did what he was told, carefully lowering Katara the rest of the way to the floor, then helping her role over with her chin on her arms. He could see the bandage around her middle from here, rapidly soaking with blood as her wound reopened. He gritted his teeth. Never had he felt such remorse over his own shot. Even with a killing wound, he had never felt guilt. Until now. Quickly he grabbed the bowl of water and knelt beside Katara again.

"Now what?" he asked.

"Put the bowl down," she said. "And undo the bandages." He did as he was told. "Now," she said, letting the pain in her voice leak through, "pour the water down on the wound." He let the water slide from the bowl. It fell at first quickly, then congealed into a single bubble and started to glow. He watched her arms as Katara let the water gently drop onto her wounded back. It was only her fingers that were moving, but he watched her face as the show of emotions flickered across her face. When she finally relaxed, he watched as the water slide away and into the ground.

"No tainted water for you," she said. She pushed herself up slowly on her arms. "Next time, though, I would prefer immersion. Maybe in a river or a stream."

He smiled, relieved that even if she was in pain, she was hiding it for his sake. Yes, maybe it was because he was the one who had abducted her and she didn't want to show weakness, but still—it was hidden. He didn't think he could handle her clearly in pain.

"I'll keep that in mind. You should get back to bed," he said, crouching down beside her.

"No," she said, pushing away his helping hand. He watched her, surprised, as she struggled up, using the table and cot as crutches. "It's been a long time since I've seen the sun." She smiled at him. "Besides, I want to know where I am so that I can plan my escape." She winked.

Tenzin was astonished at her. She was smiling at him. Him, the man who had abducted her and sworn to kill her friend.

"Now," she said, "if could give me a hand and help me out of this tent?"

Tenzin was still staring at her, openmouthed, but he shook himself out of his stupor to lend her his shoulder for support. "Of course, because, I know that you will never actually be able to find your way back to the capitol from this place," he joked. If she tried, she probably could. He was hoping she didn't want to try.

"Oh really?" she retorted. "And what makes you so certain of that?"

He stepped out into the sunlight with her.

"Because," he said, smiling as he watched her eyes sparkle in the sunlight, "It will take a long time for you to find your way out of this place."

They were in the middle of nowhere.

Zuko was waiting anxiously to hear Yugoda's announcement, along with his uncle, Ping, Master Pakku, and Kana. Apparently, the old woman had made the trip down with her new husband, and since she had heard the news was about Katara, wanted to hear it herself. Zuko couldn't blame her; he probably would've done the same for his own granddaughter. Just then, Yugoda emerged from behind the curtain that led to her bedroom. They were in the antechamber of the healer's suite at the palace, all to restless to really enjoy the tasteful décor of the Earth King's palace. Everyone watched as Yugoda positioned herself on the low couch in front of them and took a deep breath. Not a sound was heard save for that.

Kana had finally had enough. "Yugoda," she burst out, "what has happened to my granddaughter?" Yugoda looked carefully at Kana before nodding her head and beginning her explanation.

"I believe Katara to have been seriously injured." There was an intake of breath from every person in the room.

"How do you know this?"

Yugoda paused, considering, perhaps, how to best answer this question.

The sunlight shone on a meadow with a river running through it in the middle of a dense forest. Since they had moved while Katara was knocked out, she had absolutely no sense of how far they had gone, or in which direction. Which meant she had absolutely no idea where to go, or how far they were from the capitol. _I could always just follow the river,_ she thought, _but who knows how long it would take me to find anyone._

As she and Tenzin moved farther into the clearing, her newly healed and still tender back was jostled, and she winced in pain. _Not before I heal, though._

Tenzin saw her wince and furrowed his eyes in concern. "Do you want to rest?" he asked thoughtfully. Katara leaned more on him in answer. He turned the bustling clearing and asked for a chair to be brought out. When the chair arrived, Katara slid down into it and sighed heavily. She started to fidget, the move more and more, then finally she stood from the chair again.

"No good back support," she said in answer to Tenzin's question look. He watched as she tenderly and slowly moved through the motions of waterbending, taking extra precautions for her back. When she was done, a reclining chair of ice and snow stood before him, which Katara gratefully sank into. "Perfect," she sighed.

The clearing had grown quiet when Katara stared to waterbend, the men wary of one whom they had heard so much about. But, slowly, after she had sunk into her chair, one of them approached. Warily he looked at Tenzin for conformation, but Tenzin simply stared back at him. He slowly turned to Katara, who had her eyes closed on the reclining chair. He cleared his throat, and she lazily opened her eyes.

"Yes?" she asked, her voice husky.

"M-ma'am?" he stuttered. Tenzin was surprised; the man was on one of his best teams. But he understood that anyone in their right mind would be terrified of this woman.

Katara nodded for him to continue.

"I-I—well, me and the guys, we were just wondering—is it true that you can do that thing the other bender did, except that you can do it all the time?"

"Do you mean Bloodbending?"

"Yeah."

Katara turned her eyes away. "Yes. It's true. I'm stronger than Hama and can bloodbend at almost anytime." She turned her blue gaze to him again. "Though it comes with a price."

"Do you—" he cleared his throat— "do you think you could give us a demonstration?"

Katara's gaze turned icy. "You would be _willing _to offer up your body to be at my mercy? I could do anything to you."

"But you wouldn't," Tenzin put forth, calling Katara's ice eyes to him. "You're too righteous for that."

Katara paused for a long moment. "So what do you want me to do?"

Tenzin smiled. "How about some archery?"

"There is a legend of a great healer in the Northern Water Tribe. Compassionate, kind. Gentle. But fierce, strong of spirit. The greatest healer the Tribe had ever seen, perhaps even the greatest Master, had she been allowed to study. But even then, the Northern Tribe had their restrictions.

"It is said that one day a man came into the healer's workspace, dripping water and blood from a fatal wound, deathly cold. He was a hunter from a party that had met with misfortune; almost everyone in it was dead from an animal attack, save him. He had fallen through a hole in thin ice and somehow made it out of the attack alive, swimming through the bitter cold water with his fatal wound, which he had frozen water over in order to slow the blood. Somehow, he made it to this healer's space, and then collapsed onto the floor. The healer immediately rushed to save him, warming his blood and the water on him, then healing the wound so that it would no longer kill him. For such a serious wound, however, there were many healing sessions after that initial one for the healer to keep the man alive. But the man did live, a long and happy life.

"But the healer ran into misfortune.

"She was on an expedition, a ship headed toward the Earth Kingdom for trade, then onto the other nations as well, to serve as healer and to collect important herbs. Not much grows in the icy plains of the Water Tribe, you know. But on the ship's way towards the Earth Kingdom, they met with fierce pirates who attacked them for their precious cargo.

"The waterbenders fought fiercely, aided, in quite a large part, by the healer on the ship. Whenever someone fell, she was there and already helping them to their feet. But, while she was executing her duties one day, the healer was shot. Wounded, almost fatally. Luckily, there were other healers, and many waterbenders, enough that the woman could still fight for her life below deck while the waterbenders fought on deck. After days of endless fighting, neither gaining the upper hand, however, another fleet of Water Tribe ships arrived, loaded with the best warriors in all the North. With the new reinforcements, the Water Tribe easily beat back the pirates. But many wondered how word had travelled back to the Tribe of the fleet's troubles; no messages had been sent during the mellee, and no ships had sailed by. So how had word gotten back about the fight?

"The captain of the warrior fleet stepped up and explained how the man who had been healed previously had felt that the healer was in danger, pain, and close to death. He had struggle through the overwhelming pain he felt and told the warriors what had happened. He said to trust him, that he was the only person who could make sure the fleet remained afloat. The warriors, seeing no reason not to trust one of their one, made ready and set sail. But many have wondered how the man knew of the healer's danger. Only one who has studied the art of healing would even begin to untangle the mystery, but I believe, with Fire Lord Zuko's experience, and some of the other documentations I've found for similar ones, I know how this connection works.

"In expending so much of her power healing him, I believe that some of the healer's chi transferred into the man's body, and some of his chi into hers. I believe that that is a side effect of saving someone's life so drastically."

"But," Zuko broke in after making sure that Yugoda was finished fully, "Katara saved Aang's life, too. She probably spent more chi healing him in one moment than she ever did on me."

"But Aang is the Avatar. He is connected to all living things, and to everything in the Spirit World. His chi is probably more selective than yours."

Zuko closed his mouth, considering. It made some sense to him, probably more to the healers and waterbenders than him. Yugoda saw the bewilderment in his face, and so she continued.

"Basically, you and Katara have a connection. One that can communicate across any amount of space."

"So, I can feel when she's been hurt?"

"And perhaps other things; I've no idea, the connection's never been studied with so few cases. And even if it was, most of the records would've been destroyed by time or war."

"But I don't know where she is right now," Zuko said, thinking of the story he had been told earlier.

"Don't worry, sir," said Ping, surprising everyone with the determination in his voice. "We will find her."

Tenzin was watching Katara sleep in the sun when the messenger rode into the outskirts of camp. The news travelled fast to Tenzin, and when he arrived at the stable area, the messenger was already greeting his friends and laughing jovially. When Tenzin stepped into the stables, the men fell quiet, and the messenger straightened up with importance.

"And?" Tenzin said simply. His face was serious, scary.

"The package has been sent," the man said, "it should arrive within a few days. Then our plans can be set in motion.

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><p><strong>Teaser of Chp 10:<strong>

"_Set down, set down, said the moon to the sun,  
><em>_"So that I, so that I, can float overhung,  
><em>_"And can watch, and can watch, all my little ones,  
><em>_"As they sleep, as they sleep, with water in their bones,  
><em>_  
>"For the Moon loves her children,<br>__"The children of the ice and sea,  
><em>_"Oh, the Moon loves her children,  
><em>_"The children like you and me…"_

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><p><strong>AN: Clearly, I've already started on the next chapter, but I may take a little break to write it. Most of these chapters have happened one right after another because the timeline progresses that way, but the next one takes place a few weeks later, so I may just wait a week or two for the update...**_  
><em>

**Wouldn't that be mean?**

**In the meantime, I'll be putting up chapter titles that I've thought of (because I write in one word Document, so it's easier to have clear separation between chapters). So...go back and read again, and see if there's anything that doesn't add up still quite yet. I love to reread, just saying. There are so many things I forget!**

**As always, read, review, and leave me love.**


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Clearly, I own nothing of Avatar, or of any characters from that series. But I own my ideas! Yay creativity!

Warning: NO warning this time. OMG.

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><p>Chapter 10: The Game Changer<p>

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><p>"<em>Set down, set down, said the moon to the sun,<br>_"_So that I, so that I, can float overhung,  
><em>"_And can watch, and can watch, all my little ones,  
><em>"_As they sleep, as they sleep, with water in their bones,  
><em>"_For the Moon loves her children,  
><em>"_The children of the ice and sea,  
><em>"_Oh, the Moon loves her children,  
><em>"_The children like you and me…"_

Tenzin could hear Katara sing quietly as she went about the camp. It had been nearly four weeks, over a month, since she had been with them. Their plans had been set in motion long ago, the Fire Lord had received their gift, he was sure. Intelligence had said there had been increased patrols throughout the Fire Nation, probably trying to discreetly look for him and his men. He smirked. They would never find them—not until Tenzin wanted them to. He stole another look at Katara.

She had healed beautifully. In only a week after their move, she had been able to walk on her own through the small meadow directly outside of her tent on sunny afternoons. In two weeks, she was staying up late with the men, laughing and joking with them during their after-dinner ritual. In three, she was practicing her waterbending, slowly but surely building up her strength again, making sure she didn't strain her back. Now, she was fully recovered, so she said, and was ready to take the men up on their offer for some sparring matches between them, even scheduled a date and time for the bloodbending archery contest, which was to take place later today. She was becoming a part of the camp, involved with the men's lives, helping them with their wives and girlfriends, and even acting as a healer for the minor incidents around camp. On sunny, warm days, her voice floated through the camp with childish nursery rhymes, sometimes even a reel. But sometimes, Tenzin caught her staring at the setting sun sadly, and heard her humming the mournful, haunting songs of the Water Tribe ghost stories.

But she was a part of the group, now, despite the fact that she vehemently denied belief in Tenzin's cause.

"You haven't even told me what the real 'cause' is," she told him once when he, once again, asked why.

"What do you mean? We're making the family pay for the hundred years and more of strife!" She just gave him a look over the pot of water she was bending for one of the wives. She was the quickest purifier they had, even though she said that the water in the river really didn't need purifying.

"That's not the real reason."

Tenzin watched her. He hated it when she saw through his cracks, into his crooked mind. And yet, he loved that someone was able to.

Instead of answering her, he changed the subject. "I once heard about this waterbender who travelled with the Avatar, dedicated to ending the Hundred Years War. The story was, she was fierce as an Armidillo Lion, and that she could even control people. Surely you've heard of her?"

Katara gave him a look, then turned back to her work. He let a relieved breath through his nostrils.

* * *

><p>Zuko breathed heavily, slowly. He was trying not to let his frustrations end in him yelling, again. But he could feel his eyebrow begin to twitch, which was never a good sign. He opened his eyes and tried to tune in to what his generals were saying. Pakku and Hakoda, seated beside him, he could tell, were also having trouble controlling themselves. Ping was standing behind him, taking notes. The general standing in front of him was saying something about canvassing areas for information. The general gist, he felt, was that their information was insufficient, and they still had not found Katara. This, he felt, was some information that should've been related with more of foreboding or guilt at insufficiency in his voice. Apparently, Hakoda agreed with him, because he launched to his feet, fists clenched at his sides.<p>

"Are you saying," he growled through clenched teeth, "that even after _a month_ of searching, you still have not _found_ my daughter?"

The general narrowed his eyes and shot a glance at Zuko on his dais, veiled in flame. But Zuko remained still, fully supporting Hakoda's point. The general sighed.

"No, sir," he said, "we haven't."

"That is UNACCEPTABLE!" Hakoda roared. He turned to Zuko. "Now, Zuko, your armies and scouts have _tried_, and _failed_, to find my daughter. Now, oh great _Fire Lord_, I am taking matters into my own hands." He turned to face the room. "My warriors will be traveling everywhere. We _will _find her," he again turned to Zuko, "_with_ or _without _your permission."

The general tightened his fists in anger. "You can't do that! The Fire Lord has supreme authority—no parties may travel his land without his explicit permission. If you travel in his lands, I will instruct my men to arrest you!"

"No, you won't" Zuko said quietly, attracting the attention of everyone in the room. He faced Hakoda, still sitting on his dais. "Hakoda, I would be honored if your warriors searched on my land. However, I feel that our time has come to an end. We need to rescue Katara. Yesterday." He stood. "So, while Hakoda and Pakku's warriors search openly, _I_ will go out and find her. Discreetly."

Zuko walked away from the group, Pakku and Hakoda now debating the best way to search for the beloved Katara, his generals open-mouthed. Ping followed him hurriedly.

"Sir," he called, still several feet behind him, "if you are going to search for Master Katara, what do you want me to tell the populace, or even your advisors?"

"Tell them a lie," he said. Zuko's mind was preoccupied, thinking of the morbid 'gift' he had received three weeks ago, sent by messenger hawk, detailing Katara's abduction and nothing else. Nothing. "Any lie."

"But sir!" Ping called. Zuko rushed ahead of him, paying him no mind. Ping groaned and ran, cutting off his Fire Lord. "Sir. If the Fire Lord disappears for an unknowable amount of time, the populace will more than likely revolt. And, if your advisors have no idea where you are, they will think you incompetent for running off. What do you want me to tell them? That you've run away for some _romantic tryst?_ What do you think that's going to do your credibility as a leader?"

Zuko stopped everything. His heart and mind were racing, trying to think of ways to find, and save, Katara, but now he realized that _Ping was right._ What was he going to tell everyone? He shot a look at the man, then pulled him into the doorway that lead to his suite, which he had successfully made it to in the short period after he left the meeting. As he and Ping entered the outer rooms to his suite, he began hurriedly pacing back and forth, trying to formulate two plans in his mind at once.

"What do you suggest?" he said to Ping, his hand worrying his lip.

Ping swallowed, a little nervous about advising someone who was, arguably, the most powerful person in the Fire Nation.

"A diplomatic mission," he said, finally, as Zuko continued to pace. "We will tell the people that you have gone on a diplomatic mission to the Water Tribe, and your advisors will be told all work must be sent through someone whom you trust." Zuko stopped pacing. It seemed like a good plan.

"What reason will we give for going to the Water Tribe?" he asked. All the bases needed to be covered.

"The Water Tribe was arguably the nation most put at odds during the war, and ties there need to be solidified before we begin any rebuilding of a shipping empire, which will need to happen if the economy is to be rebuilt."

Zuko nodded. "Good. That's perfect. And while we say I go to the Water Tribes, we will explain an exchange of warriors to strengthen our army. And I will go to Kyoshi Island."

"Kyoshi Island, sir?" Ping asked.

"Yes." Zuko nodded, an idea about how he was to do this formulating in his mind. Suddenly, he looked up at Ping. "Get the Avatar here. He will act in my stead. And he _must not_ know what happened to Katara," he said, getting up close to Ping. "Do you understand?"

Ping swallowed. "Yes, sir. I'll go now. Everything will be ready in three days."

* * *

><p>"Three days is too long. Make it two. Now, go."<p>

Katara had not thought this would be so difficult.

She was sweating, beads of salty water forming on her brow, reminding her of the time she and Toph had broken out of Fire Nation prison with only sweat.

For about forty minutes, Katara had been practicing shooting an arrow with her Bloodbending, but as she soon had discovered, it was much more difficult to aim an arrow than it was to deflect a shot, as she had usually been doing. It was not the act of notching or the pulling of the bowstring that was the problem, she found, but the actual aiming in itself. Sighting down an arrow was easy. Sighting down an arrow that you weren't actually holding was much more difficult.

"Ugh!" she groaned, throwing up her hands and releasing her hold on one of the men who had volunteered to help her practice. "This is impossible!"

The man was rubbing his arms and wrists, as if trying to make sure he was really the one in control of them. "That was the strangest sensation of my life," he said.

"Sorry," Katara apologized, again. She had already said it about twenty times, one for every guy who decided they wanted to know what bloodbending felt like. It was this guy's first go at it.

"Oh, no, it's alright. I volunteered." Katara smiled painfully. This was annoying; she was not used to not winning at something she was so good at. Absentmindedly, she bended some water into the palm of her hand, letting it coat her fingers, freezing it, melting it, and watching it as it started to glow with healing power. In that moment, she suddenly thought back to Jet, when he showed up in Ba Sing Se, and revealed to them all that had been concealed from everyone, even him. She had used her healing to access his hidden memories. Perhaps she could do the same here.

"I've just had a wonderful idea!" she exclaimed, looking at the group of volunteers gathered around her. "Could someone help me?" Some of the men looked away sheepishly, ashamed of their rational fear and embarrassed about her complete control. One, the one who had last been under her control, stepped forward.

"What could it hurt, one more time?" he said, grabbing his bow and standing in front of the target. Katara smiled gently, then took him under her control, guiding him as she notched the arrow, raised the bow, and began to take aim. When his body was in the position she wished, Katara carefully held him in place with one hand, and bended water into her other, letting her healing powers wash over it. Then she carefully extended a tendril over to the man and let the water touch his forehead, falling over his temples and allowing her access into his mind. Gently, trying not to pry to deep into his thoughts, Katara probed his mind until she saw the part she wanted: sight. She accessed it, then sighted down the arrow. It was surreal; she could see the man from where she was standing in one eye, sweat beading on his forehead—probably nervous about what she was doing—and from the other, she was standing directly in front of the target, aiming an arrow. Quickly, hoping to spend the smallest amount of time invading the man's head, she aimed and let fly. As soon as she let go of the string, Katara withdrew from the man and watched from her own body as the arrow made a satisfying thump and burrowed itself into the center of the target. She released her hold on the man and let her arms fall, pondering what she had just done. She glanced up at his quiet groan, watching as he rubbed his forehead with both his hands.

"Did I hurt you?" Katara asked, worried.

"No," he said, groaning again. "It was just…a strange sensation. What did you do?"

Katara looked down at her hands in wonderment. Sometimes, her bending still surprised her. "I had a friend, once. In Ba Sing Se. He had been brainwashed by the leader of the Dai Li, like many of the other citizens. But he knew something was wrong with him. He asked me to help heal him, and I did. By entering his mind and unblocking the memories of what they did to him. I did almost the same thing to you, but I didn't touch your memories."

The man looked at her with a wrinkle of concern on his face. "Not at all?"

She shook her head. "Not that I could help. Glances of things, maybe, but nothing that made any sense to me." He nodded. She turned to go, to get her dinner before tonight's contest.

"What happened to your friend?" he called.

Katara stopped, thinking. Thinking of how Jet had sacrificed himself for them, of how she had saved him from the Dai Li, only to watch him die. "He died a short time later. Helping me escape."

Tenzin watched with calculating eyes from the shadows.

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><p>Zuko was on a ship, on his way to Kyoshi Island. Despite the fact that he was on the move—and happy about it—he couldn't get over his impatience. He was leaving two days after he had made the decisions about what was happening, and he still thought that it was too long a time.<p>

_I shouldn't have waited so long to make this decision_, he thought. But it couldn't be helped, and now he was on his way. On a Water Tribe ship, powered by benders and the best seamen in the world—not only was it the perfect way to keep his cover, but the fastest way to Kyoshi Island. In fact, the island was straight ahead, and they were speeding towards it.

"Fire Lord Zuko." He turned when the captain called his name. "We're in sight of Kyoshi Island, and will be making port in about fifteen minutes."

"Really?" he asked. "That fast?"

The man nodded. "We have orders from Pakku and Hakoda to work as quickly as possible." He smiled, a little smug. "They personally picked this ship and crew because we are the best."

"Well, then, I've no need to worry about getting back in a timely manner?"

"No, Fire Lord. In fact, depending on how long you take on land, we can be back by tonight."

Zuko silently thanked the spirits for his good fortune, and the geography that meant Kyoshi Island was actually quite close to the Fire Nation proper. They could start their search as soon as they landed. He looked out to the rapidly approaching island and smiled for the first time in days.

When they landed, he wasted no time. He didn't even wait for the plank to be lowered, just jumped and raced until he got to the complex reserved for Kyoshi warriors. Slightly out of breath, he walked in cautiously, hoping not to meet Sokka. He didn't know how much Hakoda had told Sokka, and Zuko certainly did not want to be the one to break the news to the man that his only kid sister had been captured. While under Zuko's protection. Hopefully, if he did meet anyone, it would be Suki. She would know how to handle her man.

Zuko winced at the thought, slightly repulsed. But then his mind returned to the task at hand, and began to look for the girl he needed. There was a group of women practicing in the main floor, in full on Kyoshi attire and makeup. Zuko sighed—it was hard to pick out his target when all the girls looked so similar. Carefully, he circumvented the room, seeing no signs of Sokka or Suki. The women noticed him, but none even gave him a second glance. Zuko knew better, though. They weren't watching him, but they were keeping him under observance—if he made any move that seemed violent or with ill intent, they would be on him in a second. Even with his swords and his firebending, he doubted he could take them all. Finally, he spotted the girl he was looking for in the middle of the room, running the practice even as she participated in it. Zuko smiled. She had come a long way in only a few months.

"Ty Lee," he called.

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><p>It was time for their competition. Tenzin stood still in the late afternoon sunlight, letting his skin bake to a degree that was unfashionable in the Fire Nation. He smiled cynically. What did he care about the fashions of the Fire Nation?<p>

He turned at the sound of movement behind. His eyes widened, taking in the sight before him. Katara approached, surrounded by many of the members of the camp—all waiting to see what would happen. She was radiant in her traditional Water Tribe robes in the late afternoon light, resting around her in a kind of luminous halo. As she approached, she caught him looking.

"What?" she asked, quite perplexed about his staring.

"I've never seen you in your Water Tribe clothes before," he said.

"Oh." She cast a glance down across her body, as if to find something remarkable about her clothing. "Well, my other robes really needed a good washing. It's a good thing you didn't capture me in them, though, 'cause I'd have a huge hole in the back, huh?" She smiled sweetly.

Tenzin continued to stare. He shook his head and tried to take stock of the rumblings rolling around in his mind.

_You finally want to spend time with someone_, a voice in his head said. It made Tenzin think back to a time, a long, long time ago.

"_I just don't understand why he won't associate with any of the other kids!" he father said, throwing up his hands in frustration._

"_It's just a phase. He'll grow out of it, I'm sure. I did the same thing at his age," his mother insisted calmly. Tenzin liked to watch his mother. She was always calm, serene. Almost nothing phased her, and her beautiful face almost never turned angry. She was pale, as was fashionable in the Fire Nation, with long, glossy black hair she liked to wear down with a braid to keep it out of her eyes. Her gray eyes were rare, but not uncommon in this area of the Fire Nation, where the Air Nomad temples had once been situated on an island not far away. She had long, delicate fingers, and was always graceful, and her voice was always soothing. Sometimes, he would just follow along behind her, doing his best to stay invisible, and just listen to her voice._

"_I don't know what to do, Kaiya. If he doesn't start playing with the other boys soon, I'm afraid for what will happen to him. He already has those eyes—your eyes. I already worry about losing you—I couldn't survive if I lost Tenzin, too."_

"_I'll talk to him. You won't lose either of us." Tenzin heard the quiet sounds of his parents exchanging a quick kiss, then the imperceptible swish of his mother's robes on the floor. He got up from his hiding space and silently rushed back to his room. When his mother came in, he was hiding under the covers, playing with some of his figurines—hand-carved toys from his father: a horse, a soldier, a minister, a pig, a woman, and a child._

"_Tenzin," she said, lifting the covers off his head and sitting down beside him. "I know you were listening." She smoothed down his hair. "Why don't you want to play with the other children?"_

_Tenzin continued playing with his toys for a moment before looking up at his mother. Tenzin had his mother's eyes, big, clear, calm gray pools with flecks of silver and blue. Rare, in this region. It was not uncommon to have hazel or gray eyes, but eyes so offensively silver and gray were a worry._

"_They make fun of my eyes," the little boy said, the eyes in question pooling with tears. Tenzin's mother pulled him into her lap. She was sad, he could tell._

"_You have to ignore that and make friends. Do you understand? It's very important that you make friends."_

"_Will they take me away if I don't?"_

_Tenzin's mother held him tighter. "They might, my son. They might."_

Tenzin shook the old memories out of his head as he aimed for the shot. He had done what he was told—he had made friends. His mother had made friends, too. And his mother had still been taken away—he had still been taken away. And his father did nothing to help them. But he had grown strong in the concentration camp, and then he had escaped.

The arrow sang as it flew to sink into the dead center of the target. He turned to Katara.

"All right. I've taken my shot. Now," he bowed gracefully. "I am your mere puppet." He caught the glint of a wicked smile on the waterbender's face before he felt his body seize up. Involuntarily he fought the strange sensation.

"It's less of a discomfort if you don't fight it," he heard her say, and he tried desperately to let his body go slack in her hands. "Good." It was like an out of body experience—he could almost see himself being controlled: taking hold of the bow, the arrow, notching and raising the pair, ready to aim. In his mind, he could tell that he was off, not lined up correctly. But he could do nothing to correct it.

It was then that he felt the cool touch of water on his forehead. He had known this was Katara's plan, but the sensation of someone else in his mind, sifting through his thought processes and memories was not an awareness he was expecting. He tried to push against her as she shifted through things he didn't want her to see: thoughts, memories, his real plan. The tipping edge between insanity and reality he balanced on.

_Stop it._ He heard her voice. He wondered if she had spoken out loud, but his quick glance around confirmed it had been in his head. _Stop fighting me. It's making it harder for me to find your sight._ He wondered if she knew he could hear her. He focused on what he was seeing, making it easier for her to find it. He felt the sensation of her latching onto it, the disturbing feeling of the searching tendrils withdrawing to the consciousness attached to his sight. Relief flooded him, and Katara quickly lined up her shot and let the arrow fly. As soon as the arrow left the bow, he felt her withdraw and let his body go. Involuntarily, he slumped, limp. He put his hand to his head, and turned astonished eyes to Katara.

"Do you know?" he whispered desperately. She was less than ten feet from him, she must have heard him, but she only watched him quietly until the crowd around them surged to her, showering her with questions and praise. Her gaze stayed on him a little longer, before she turned her attention to the crowd around her.

Tenzin swallowed hollowly.

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><p><strong>AN: I mean, it doesn't seem long for a two week hiatus (why have you not written consistently and made it twice as long as one update then?) but it's over four thousand words, and I usually try to keep it around 3,000. Any longer, and it'd be a real chore to read, or at least that's what I think.**

**Leave me anything you want. questions, comments, grammar corrections (it's been two weeks, and I don't have a set writing schedule. this could clearly end badly)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: i don't anything that is original Avatar-But I do own my own random spinoffs!**

**Warning: Copious use of flirting for information...HA!**

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><p>Chapter 11: Water Tribe Warriors require more Alcohol<p>

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><p>"Zuko did WHAT?"<p>

Zuko winced at the sound of his name being shouted so shrilly. He looked around, trying to see if Sokka had heard his fiancé's outburst. He had spotted the betrothal necklace in the brief moment before Ty Lee had swept Suki into the room for their talk. When Zuko had found Ty Lee and explained to her what had happened, and what he wanted her to help him with, the small circus performer had insisted on telling her superior.

The screaming in the room had died down to dull murmurs. The door opened suddenly, and Ty Lee gestured him inside sheepishly. Suki was standing by the window, looking at the courtyard of the complex, where Kyoshi warriors relaxed off-duty, or ran to their next practice.

"Zuko," Suki said quietly. "You had better find her."

Zuko felt his hands tighten into fists, and his jaw tightened.

"I will." Suki nodded gravely.

"Ty Lee will go with you. I will tell Sokka when the time is right. Now go. I want you back in the Fire Nation by nightfall."

Zuko did not wait to be told twice. He was out the door and halfway through the town before Ty Lee caught up with him.

"You're really worried about her, huh?" she said softly beside him.

He glanced at her, then turned his attention to the path in front of him.

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><p>"Where are we in the plan?"<p>

"The Fire Lord announced a diplomatic trip to the Water Tribe two days ago, and left on a Water Tribe boat later that day. However, the boat was not headed toward the Northern Water Tribe, though that is not unexpected."

"But it is the perfect excuse to get out of the country unnoticed," Tenzin said grimly. The Fire Lord was crafty, he had to admit it. And he should've expected the Water Tribe to assist the Fire Lord in whatever the man decided to do. He gritted his teeth. He should've expected it, but he hadn't. He had thought the Fire Lord would admit he had made a mistake. But he had expected the Fire Lord to take matters into his own hands, and that was what was happening. "What else?"

"The government also announced an armed forces sharing program, also with the Water Tribe. Water Tribe vessels and units will be policing the area for an indefinite amount of time. In addition, the Avatar will take over all domestic issues in the Fire Lord's absence."

Tenzin sucked in a breath. Both were neither good nor bad, but for him he had the feeling that they were severely _bad_. The extra policing—by some of the most well known warriors in the world—would mean that their camp was in danger of being discovered more quickly than he wanted. And the Avatar would be very interested, he was more than sure, in dispensing justice for one of his best friends—and rumored girlfriend.

"Take extra precautions. We need to make sure that no one else finds us. Get any information you can about the Water Tribe troops—where they are, what their orders are, whether they are authorized to raid and arrest. Whether they will. Keep an eye on the ports—any Water Tribe ships making port without other groups nearby, and so on. We need to stay on top of this if we want our plan to work."

He got up from his chair at the head of the table and moved to exit. "Get it done," he said before walking out.

He was scared. He knew, rationally, that he probably shouldn't be. Katara hadn't said anything to him since that day, she hadn't made one mention of finding out what he was really fighting for. But she also hadn't spoken to him at all—not one word—and despite his rational thinking otherwise, he thought maybe there was a reason he did not want to consider.

_She is the first person you've gotten close to in a very long time._ He put a hand to his head—he did not want his mother's voice stirring up old memories again, but it seemed the inevitable had begun.

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><p><em>When he was twelve, Tenzin and his family had to start paying extra 'taxes' to the local authories, fees that kept him and his mother safe from the camps—those horrible concentration camps set up around the Fire Nation to hold anyone suspected of being a 'terrorist' or a 'traitor'. But they didn't keep them safe.<em>

_Tenzin had friends. His mother had friends, friends they had had for a long time, who knew them, knew their hearts and their likes and dislikes. Who came over to eat his mother's famous fruit tarts, which she sold to the local bakery. Who came over to play with Tenzin, to learn martial arts, since he wasn't a firebender. But they didn't keep them safe._

_Tenzin's father had connections, those crucial tying points that kept so many people safe for a long time—people who talked about how bad the Fire Lord was, about how much they wished he would just leave them alone, about how funny his antics were. But Tenzin's father didn't keep them safe._

_In the summer he turned thirteen, Tenzin and his mother were taken away. The bribes were not working, and people kept talking, in the weeks leading up to it. Then, there were guards at his door and searching his house and going through his stuff: his room, his bed, his training materials, his books, everything. And everything was a reason for him to go to a camp. He and his mother—his mother, Kaiya, with the long, beautiful, glossy black hair and the pale, royal-like skin, and the flashing gray eyes they both shared. The gray eyes that had attracted Tenzin's father, that told of a soul so merciful, that no grudge could ever be held long, even when her child took a fresh fruit tart without asking. His mother, with her long, elegant hands, was to be sent to a work camp—one of those ones where rumors flew about treatment and survival rates. And he, Tenzin, was also going, for his eyes—his legacy. _

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><p>He remembered the bruising handprint on his upper arm, the grueling work in hot sun, the crazy but-just-might-work plan to get out, the run into the woods—anybody left behind stays behind—and the years of hiding, and planning, and grouping, and strengthening. And now, here he was, at the cusp of everything, teetering on a razor's edge between what would happen and what wouldn't. He didn't know how to survive either possibility.<p>

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><p>Katara did not like the idea of what she was about to do.<p>

Tenzin had been giving her that look for the past few days—the filled with fear, suspicion, and terribe calculations. She did not like that look, it made her wary of what was about to occur. And that comment, after the archery match, still unnerved her. Tenzin had looked at her with such harrowing fear and hopelessness—she couldn't shake the feeling it gave her. So she had formulated a plan.

In the archery contest, Katara had, as she planned, entered carefully into Tenzin's mind, and tried to see through his eyes. But during her search for his sight, she felt Tenzin fighting her, quite hard, and trying to keep her, most effectively _out. _Katara had yelled at him, also quite effectively. But she had felt something in that mind, something she thought out of place. A presence, she thought. And Tenzin had definitaly tried to keep her from something. So, taking a stark look at her predicament, Katara had decided and formulated a plan in order to find out what was going on, and perhaps, if she could find a way to get out.

As of right now, Katara was skulking around in the back of several tents, in the inbetween place around the backs. It had taken her awhile to find the correct tent in the maze between the tents. Now, it was just after sunset—the perfect time for her to do what she had planned—and she was behind Tenzin's tent. She had an absurd sense of guilt stirring in her gut, but she swallowed and ignored it. Tenzin had captured her, was planning to do something horrible to Zuko, and was leading on people in some obscure motive, that she was pretty sure he didn't even know the truth of. She took a breath through her nose to calm her nerves, then knelt down and began to slowly and carefully remove the tacks that held the bottom of the tents to the ground. She had already figured which tent was Tenzin's, and she knew that he wasn't there at the moment, but she was sure he would be back soon, now that the sun had set. Dinner was to end in about a half hour, and she only had a little time after that to make sure she could get in without incident. She continued to remove the spikes, making a space, first, big enough for her to peek through, then squeeze her hand, then arm, and eventually, a space big enough for her to slide quietly through. After that was done, she pressed down on the edge of the tent and froze it in place, making sure that it was unnoticeable. She settled down and waited for her moment.

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><p>Zuko was watching as the ship came into port. He smiled tightly as the dock grew closer. They were finally back in the Fire Nation, ready to start their search. Even if it had only been a few hours, he still felt it was way too long to delay their start.<p>

"I take it you're happy to begin?" Zuko turned to see Ty Lee behind him, in simple Fire Nation clothes—he had told her to be the soul of discretion on this mission, since he could only afford so much. Apparently, she had taken this to heart, because she was dressed in a nondescript red skirt of fairly poor quality and a midriff baring pink top like the one she normally wore, although this one said nothing of a well-off girl who had once been intimate friends with the Fire Nation's now disgraced princess. The skirt looked as though it limited her mobility, but Zuko trusted that Ty Lee knew what she was doing, and so therefore could probably move juzt as well as she had before. Besides, as a Kyoshi Warrior, skirts were part of her daily uniform.

Zuko himself was dressed for unseeing. He wore only what could be considered the median of travel clothes, in a medium between red and gray. Over that he pulled a long cloak and dark boots. They were heavy, and the only things of real quality on his whole person, and even they were the low end of good. Zuko was working very hard not to stand out.

"Happy enough. Although I don't know exactly how we're going to start the search," Zuko said after taking stock of her attire. Ty Lee came forward to rest her hands on the rail, pondering.

"Perhaps we could take dinner with a few off-duty Water Tribe warriors," she said, watching as the boat pulled into a dock which was, indeed, swarming with off-duty soldiers. Zuko sucked in his breath, considering this option.

"That's a good idea," he said slowly. "Although, I don't know if I want to alert the entire warrior community of our return, or even my departure, for that matter."

Ty Lee smiled a little. "I think I have a solution for that."

* * *

><p>Zuko was sitting at the bar of their inn, grouchily nursing some rice wine and watching Ty Lee flirt. He had to admit, this was a good plan. Get enough alcohol in any soldier, put him in front of a pretty girl, and he would spill all his secrets. Although, it seemed Water Tribe warriors needed a good deal more drink in them then the normal variety of soldier. Or, at least, that was what he surmised from Ty Lee's frustrated glances in his direction. All he could do was shrug in return—he had never flirted with a soldier with information before, and didn't really know the art. He honestly had no idea how it was going, but he hoped, as he watched Ty Lee lean in even more, execute what looked like a flirtatious giggle, bat her eyelashes, and place her hand on the warrior's arm, that it was going well. One could only hope.<p>

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><p>Katara was sweating, even in the advancing cool of the night. She was currently pressed against the ground, one eye on the small gap she had created earlier, between the bottom of the tent and the ground, and an ear and hand pressed against the ground as she listened carefully to the events inside the tent. Tenzin had returned almost an hour ago, and set about making some new arrows, tending to his bow, and meditating, before commencing what she could only hope was a before bed exercise ritual. Now he was slowing down, and she could hear the pressure being let up on his kicks and jumps. Soon enough, he stopped moving and began another meditation ritual. In a way, all of this was good for her, since she needed him to be fully asleep before she could entertain the idea of sneaking into his tent. Sighing quietly in frustrating, Katara finally gave up and began to bloodbend. She began to squeeze Tenzin's arteries around his neck, barely negligible, making him feel slightly woozy and very tired. After only a few minutes, she heard him slowly get into his bed, then, through the ground, heard as his breaths began to come deeper and slower in a sure sign of sleep.<p>

Quickly, she shimmied under the small hole and into the tent, checking her breathing and Tenzin's before continuing on. She made her way to the entrance of the tent, peeking out, just in case, then made her way back to Tenzin's bed. In the black of the darkened room, she uncorked her waterskins, and let the healing glow bathe the tent. Slowly, she placed her hands on Tenzin's head, and delved into his mind.

It was more complex than she had thought. Just as when she had entered his mind before, because Tenzin was not focused on only one thing, making it harder to find what she wanted. But tonight, she wasn't quite sure what she wanted, so she let the flow of Tenzin's dreams take her.

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><p><strong>AN: I know that this installment is kind of short-but this was a good place to end it, so I trusted my instincts. Also, cause I'm tired.**

**It's been awhile-I'm sorry! I just had no inspiration, but this last Korra episode prompted me. I want to finish this story so that I can get more into another one for before the beginning of the whole Korra story, to explain kind of how it connects, in my crazy head.**

**Also, I'm working on a stage play of the movie Repo! The Genetic Opera-anyone ever heard of it? :)**

**Anyway, I'm also currently reading a great series, The Parasol Protectorate, which is set in Victorian England, so if my writing kind of sounds like that which you'd find in that type of book, you know why. But if you like supernaturals and romances, I highly recommend it.**

**okay, so I think that's it, although you should check out my devArt page, which is linked onto to my profile. I have a muro, which is basically just a recording, of korra, and my vision of Katara's wedding dress in a universe where she marries Zuko. Plus a full-size of the poster for this story.**

**Until next time!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I own only my characters and my ideas. Darn.**

**Warning: There is some mild language in this chapter, and some very intense scenes. If you don't like it, I suggest you choose a different filter for your stories search.**

**REmember to read the author's notes-and leave a comment for what you think the title should be!**

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><p>Chapter 12: Can you think of a title?<p>

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><p>It was dark, scary dark. Black like a night with no moon, and silent. Eerie. Katara looked around and tried to think of what to do. Should she yell, for someone, or something, to find her?<p>

"What are you doing here?" a small voice said behind her. Katara whirled, scared of everything in this dark place. Behind her stood a boy, no more than twelve, with gray eyes and dark hair. She squinted at him closely. He looked almost like a very young Tenzin.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Are you going to help me?" was all he said in return, staring at her with those gray eyes. As he spoke, the blackness behind him illuminated, and the sounds of pickaxes on hardy stone rang through the darkness. Katara could see children, like the boy, and many other men and women wielding the pickaxes, smashing huge boulders into bits, all carefully watched by Fire Nation soldiers. She looked down at the boy's face again, and saw that it had become dirty, bruises under the eyes and smears of soot. He was crying, the silver tears making tracks in the grime that covered his face.

"Are you going to help us?" he said again. Katara began to open her mouth, trying to formulate words, but suddenly she was wrenched backwards, and the boy retreated into a pinprick of light. She landed in a pool of cold light. She heard footsteps to her side, and turned to find a woman, a beautiful woman, with gray eyes and glossy black hair. Her lips were a full pink bow, and her hands were long and elegant. She was dressed in fine robes of dark red and gold. As Katara watched, the woman's hairline retreated back to the center of her head, a straight, shaven line, and her robes turned from red and gold to yellow and orange, the colors of the airbenders. Finally, the tattoos which where symbols of the Air Nomads grew and cascaded down her body like Aang's. Behind her, a line of spirits, all of them Air Nomads, appeared.

"Tenzin," the woman said, "you must always remember who we are. Who we have survived to be. And you must continue to survive, to learn our ways and teach them to your children. And keep our memories living. You must always do this."

"Kaiya!" The gruff voice of a worried man broke the woman's speech, and she jerked her head in the direction from which it came, shattering the appearances of the ghosts of the past. She was no longer shaven or tattooed, and she was again clad in red and gold. And now, Katara's surroundings were that of a well-to-do household in any Fire Nation city. Hand-carved tables and chairs and well-cushioned couches surrounded them, and into it all stormed a frazzled giant of a man.

"What is it, darling?" the woman, Kaiya, asked, rushing over to the man who appeared to be her husband. He held up a paper.

"A new edict! From that bastard of a Fire Lord!"

"Darling! Not so loud!"

"Why? It's true! He's scared, just scared, that's what this is!" The man paced back and forth, wildly gesticulating. "Scared that some of us will come to our senses and figure out how to get at him."

"What does it say?"

"Anyone suspected of treason, in any way, for any reason, may be arrested with no warning and sent to work camps or prison. That's what the damn thing says!"

"Darling, they've been coming out with these things for ages. It doesn't mean they'll—"

"But it does! The list of reasons is so long, Kaiya, you haven't seen it! Pages and pages of lists, and at the end, it says that the arresting officer can just make up his own! And not one of the people arrested will get a fair trial, not even the children!"

"They're arresting children now?" The man came over to his wife and took her into his arms.

"They're arresting everyone," he said, stroking her hair. "At plays, at assemblies. Anyone who speaks different, walks different—" he pulled away and looked at her in the face—"looks different. You're in danger, love. You and Tenzin. What am I to do?" She put a hand to his face, but the man shook her off and began pacing the room again.

"And all because of that bastard Fire Lord!" He threw down the papers. "Iroh's son should've been Fire Lord!"

"Iroh's son died," Kaiya said quietly.

"Do you know what the said on the battlefields?" His wife looked at him, tired. "They said Ozai arranged it. That he wanted his only brother's only living relative to die. They said he even helped Iroh's breakdown along. Put pressure on him. Because Ozai didn't even want the chance that Iroh would lay claim to the thrown! And then, he killed Azulon!"

"You don't know that," Kaiya hissed.

"EVERYONE KNOWS THAT!" he yelled, waving his arms about wildly. "And now, he's trying to destroy families like he destroyed his own. Well, I'm not going to let that happen to us!" He began to storm from the room.

"Katsu!" Kaiya grabbed for his arm, pulling him back to her. "Pay the taxes. Pay the bribes. Do _not_ do anything stupid."

"You think I would jeopardize my family?"

The woman wrapped her arms around him and held his face in her hands. "I know you well, love. You're a warrior. But you cannot fight this battle like this." She kissed him hard, then drew away to look at him again. "Pay the bribes." The man bent down and pressed a soft kiss to her lips, and then hurried quietly out the door. Kaiya continued to stare after him, but as Katara watched her, her eyes grew older, bruised with the marks of sleepless nights, and her hair lost its shine. Kaiya turned to look at Katara, and she watched as the beautiful carvings one by one disappeared and Kaiya's robes and dress resolved into tatters.

"Now do you see?" she asked Katara. Katara opened her mouth, and found it had gone dry.

"No," she croaked.

"Mama!" The little boy, the one from earlier, ran into the room and to his mother, holding on to her tightly. Kaiya bent down and embraced him. As she did so, the emptied house disappeared, and a new scene replaced it. Thousands of men, women, and children were manhandled into waiting carts, all of them screaming or crying, a few trying to bribe their way out. The little boy was sobbing in his mother's arms.

"Mama! I don't want to leave you!" he cried. A soldier noticed them and began ominously approaching them. Kaiya saw him and began talking quietly.

"Tenzin," she said desperately, "Tenzin, listen to me. I have to leave you, alright? You can't come with me. But you can't go where they want you to go, okay? You can't go with the small children. Are you listening? You have to go with the big boys, okay Tenzin? You have to sneak in with them. Then you have to do whatever they tell you, alright? Whatever the soldiers tell you." She cast a glance toward the approaching soldier, then turned back to her son. "Remember what I taught you, Tenzin, and remember who you are. You must do this, for me, okay? Go with the big boys. Hide with them, then work your hardest and become the best. I love you, my son." She hugged him tighter, just as the soldier was upon them, then pushed him away. "Run, Tenzin! Remember what I told you, and run!" The soldier grabbed her arm and forced her to her feet, but Kaiya reached for her son anyway. The little boy was running away, but he stopped and turned around to see his mother, tears streaming down her face, as she was hauled away.

* * *

><p>"So, what did you find out?" Zuko asked as they entered their suite. It wasn't really inconspicuous, but he had been tired and decided to splurge. It wasn't a very nice suite, anyway. Ty Lee collapsed on the small couch in the common room.<p>

"Well, it wasn't easy. Usually it only takes five minutes." Zuko gave her a look. "Right. Well, it seems the boys are being restationed to inland Fire Nation, around the area of the Black Cliffs and Hama's old village. You remember that story, right?"

Zuko nodded. "Crazy old lady who taught Katara to bloodbend. Did he tell you why?"

"Apparently, they found Hama wandering about on Azulon Island, and she put up a hell of a fight when they tried to capture her, and the story goes that she got away. The Water Tribe decided it would set up a net from the Bay inward and try to ferret her out. Or at least, that's the story."

"What about the islands?"

Ty Lee shook her head. "Water Tribe warriors are efficient. They have boats patrolling the waters at all times, especially around such a small area as the islands, and there are men here everyday on the lookout for anyone suspicious. But remember, they aren't actually looking for Hama, they're looking for Katara. Apparently, the general decided she wasn't here."

Zuko sat down on a chair opposite Ty Lee and considered. "Why do you think he did that?"

"Well, the guy I was with said that Hama was looking pretty good when she arrived at the police station—not like someone who had spent the amount of time in the wilds since she broke free."

"And?"

"And, there was no report of Hama in any of the villages between hers, which has the only prison suited for waterbenders, and Azulon Island. Which means she must've had a camp—and I'd guess it was a pretty big one if Katara's there too."

Zuko nodded. "But that's still a lot of ground to cover."

Ty Lee shook her head. "When I was with the circus, we travelled all over, and we only had a few places in that area we could stop and make camp, even if we didn't make it very big." She took out a map and unrolled it, placing it on the floor—since there was no table—and kneeling beside it. Zuko looked around for a minute, considering. It really wasn't a nice room, but a few months ago he would've just kneeled down beside her. Now, he was wondering if anyone was watching. Putting aside his monarchist's pride, he bent down to observe the map.

"Considering these people don't want to be found, that eliminates a few possibilities, and leaves only a couple in the area near the Black Cliffs."

"What about everywhere else?"

"I don't think they went that way. Hama was found on Azulon's Island, here," she pointed, "and that, according to our intelligence is where Katara first went on her journey. So it's a safe bet that's where she was captured. Now, from Azulon's Island, there are only so many places one can charter a ship to. Back to the capitol and the area surrounding it, and to the ports on either side of the Black Cliffs."

"Why only there?"

"The area's surrounded by active volcanoes and underwater rock formations. If you don't know it like the back of your hand, it's deadly. Even if you do, most boats won't take the risk. But there is one place that you can get to fairly easily, with the right captain, and is secluded enough that no one will find you. Right here." Ty Lee was pointing at the northern half of the cresent shaped formation of the Fire Nation, between a volcanic formation, and another mountain range. From the formations surrounding it, Zuko could tell it was secluded. Volcanoes in the Fire Nation were always a risk, and mountain ranges usually meant earthquakes. The combination could prove deadly at any moment, and most didn't want to risk it. On their own, either one could be inhabited—volcanic soil was the most fertile in the world, and mountains were good for herders—but together, they were a deadly combination.

"I can understand why you would camp there if you wanted seclusion. Most people wouldn't live there."

Ty Lee nodded. "And, there's a valley with a good sized meadow, and meadows connecting to it, and a safe mountain stream. Plus, plenty of game in the mountains."

"Did your circus use to camp there?"

Ty Lee smiled wryly. Zuko was surprised—he didn't think she could do that. But a lot had changed since she'd betrayed Azula and switched to the good side. "Only when the circus hadn't paid its taxes recently." Her smile turned honest, nostalgic. She missed them, he could tell.

"So you think they're there?" Zuko changed the subject quickly, vaulting up from his position and beginning to pace the room. Ty Lee nodded.

"If I were trying to hide a big camp like that, that's where I'd go. It's near enough to the noblemen's estates that no one would dare canvas there for police, and there isn't enough cross travel to bother them."

"So, how will we get there?"

Ty Lee smiled again. "I have my ways."

* * *

><p>Katara put a hand to her face. She was crying. The young Tenzin stood in front of her, crying too.<p>

"What are you doing here?" he asked plaintively. Katara knelt down beside him, reaching out, trying to comfort the little boy. As she that, however, little boy grew. The tears on his face evaporated, and the fear and sadness in his eyes disappeared, the gray circles growing harder and angrier. Now, the little boy was almost 16, hard muscled in a wiry kind of way that made her think of archers and well-trained warriors. He was relatively clean, with only the dust of the road and forest, rather than layers of soot and grime, and he was in the kind of black clothes Katara associated with sneaking around and committing mostly illegal acts. He was wearing a cloth mask over his nose and mouth and was carrying a bow and quiver of arrows.

"What are you doing here?" he said again, towering over Katara, his voice angry and hard, like his eyes. He notched and arrow and aimed his bow. "What are you doing here?" He let fly an arrow, barely grazing Katara's arm. Considering the small amount of distance between them, Katara had no doubt that he could've killed her in that moment. She began to run, leaping up and running as fast as she could through what was now a dense forest. Arrows whizzed by her, and she sincerely hoped that Tenzin at his young age was not as good a shot at a moving distance as she thought he was in real life. Crashing through the forest, she suddenly came upon a small river. Splashing into the water, she turned to face her future-abductee, fortified by the presence of her element. As she turned, however, another girl crashed through the bushes, fear written clearly on her face, and fell into the water. The girl looked up as Tenzin followed her into the water, aiming his bow at her. Katara had no doubt he would shoot to kill.

"Please! Please no!" the girl cried. "I'll do anything! Anything!" She stood, stumbling over to the young Tenzin. She clutched at his clothing, using him to her up, trembling with fear. "I swear, anything!" she whispered desperately.

Tenzin lowered his bow, watching her carefully. Katara couldn't read his eyes, but she thought that there she saw immense sadness. Slowly, she watched him raise a hand, stroking the girl's hair. It was then that Katara really looked at the girl. She had long, dark, glossy hair and pale skin. Her hazel eyes were sparked with fear.

"What's your name?" Tenzin said hoarsely, still stroking the girl's hair. His facemask was removed under the trembling hands of the girl.

"Kaiya," she said hoarsely. "Kaiya."

Tenzin jerked away from her, pushing her into the stream and pushed her aside. "Go," he said, his voice gruff. "Go!" The girl trembled in the cool of the stream, but at Tenzin's scratched cry, she jumped up and began running again, casting a glance behind her once before entering the shadows of the trees. Tenzin was standing, stiff, still in the center of the river. Katara watched him carefully, moving slowly from her place in the silver waters.

"Tenzin?" she said quietly, reaching for him as she had before. He looked at her, sadness and confusion in his eyes. "Tenzin, it's alright. I'm here."

"Mama?" he said plaintively. Katara felt tears prick at the back of her eyes. She held out her arms to the distraught boy, not even bothering to correct him.

"NO!" a voice boomed just as the young Tenzin fell into her arms. The world was tipping, and Katara was falling away from the teenager, his arms reaching for her as she fell away. Behind him appeared the Tenzin she knew, older, harder, and angrier. He held his counterpart back as Katara fell away, and she knew innately that she was in trouble.

* * *

><p>They were on a boat headed to Azulon Island, Zuko and Ty Lee, and about a hundred assorted sheep-like grazing animals, and their skins. They had started out only forty minutes ago, and were already halfway across the bay after a quick stop at the Black Cliffs. Ty Lee dropped down beside him from somewhere up above in the extensive rigging.<p>

"How did you manage this?" he asked her as she flipped her braid over a shoulder.

"What, this? Even a circus girl needs her secrets," she said sweetly. "We'll get to Azulon Island in about 10 minutes, then we'll have to switch boats to an old friend's to get to the valley."

"What's the name of this valley again?"

"It doesn't have a set name, really," she said contemplatively. "But most people call it Shi no Tani."

"Death Valley?" he said incredulously.

"And you wonder why no one lives here."

"Not anymore," he laughed. Ty Lee smiled beside him. "Spirits, it's good to smile a little," he said, feeling some of the tension leave his shoulders in a swift sigh. "I've been worried sick since I got that…message." He went to the railing to observe their progress into port. The distance from the island the had come from, at the farthest tip of the Fire Nation, to Azulon Island was by no means a small one, and to traverse it in such a short distance was astonishing.

"Zuko, did you ever—" Ty Lee began, meaning to open her sovereign and now friend's eyes to what everyone around him could clearly see.

"How do they move so quickly?" he asked, interrupting her, showing no signs that he had heard her in the first place.

Ty Lee sighed quietly. She didn't want to be the one to tell him anyway, and his aura was so happy not thinking about it—the happiest she had seen it in the past two days it had taken them to get here. She couldn't just destroy that. So she played along. _Just for a little longer, _she told herself, _then I'll confront him_.

"I'll show you," she said, leading him down below.

* * *

><p>Katara did not like the feeling of falling she was experiencing. She had never liked the idea of being up high without a proper support system—Appa was an exception. She was falling between cliffs of shaking stone, now, into an undiscovered darkness from below, away from what was now a pinprick of light above her.<p>

She landed with a solid, bone-jarring thump into a meadow. She moaned—the pain had jarred her almost-healed wound and given her quite a headache. Looking around, she tried to get her bearings, then realized where she was—inside the meadow of the camp! But now, she recognized it—the copse of trees just there, the small river and the forest beyond it—she was where she had just been, where the teenaged Tenzin had chased the young girl to, then let her go. Where she herself had been chased. Clearly, this place meant something to Tenzin, for him to return to it after years.

"Are you going to help us?" Katara whirled. Behind her stood the twelve or thirteen year-old Tenzin, soot still smearing his face, tears still making silver tracks down it.

"Who are you?" Katara whirled again, this time finding the teenage Tenzin, anger now in his eyes and a bow trained at her. Her eyes widened in fear.

"She is an interferer." Katara turned more slowly at this voice, backing toward the river in a slow retreat. There before her stood the Tenzin she knew, all gray eyes and righteous fury. Her hands tightened in fists, and she straightened. She could be just as righteous as him. Tenzin pulled a bow from behind his back and notched an arrow.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, his voice crackling with anger.

Katara moved into a defensive position. Not what she would've liked in order to win the fight. Briefly, she wondered what would happen if he shot her dead here, inside his head. Would she live? Her body, would that survive and not her mind? She shook herself of these delusions—it was no use wondering if it would only distract her from the task at hand, and make her more likely to find out. She definitely did not want to find out.

"Getting answers," she said evenly, glancing between the three forms of Tenzin surrounding her. She did not think the young one a threat, but the other two she was wary of, and she still kept an eye on the youngest.

"Did you find what you needed?" he sneered.

"No." Katara straightened from her position. No longer in the defensive, she moved easily and with purpose, but Tenzin could see her readiness in the flexes of her muscles. "What happened to you, Tenzin?" she said softer, sweeter. "What did they do to you to make your whole life about revenge?"

"What did they do to me?" he said, matching her soft tone, but not the sweetness. His voice shook with years of repressed anger and sadness. "They took everything from me! _Everything_! Everything I ever loved, I knew. They took it all away and made me that," he gestured with his chin at the teenaged version of himself. "They made me into a killer. A ruthless reflection of what _they _were." The teenager looked over at him, startled. "I didn't even know who I was! I couldn't remember my own name—I was just _Arrows_ or _Pipsqueak _or _Youngblood_! Because of _them!_"

"Because of Fire Lord Ozai?" Katara asked cautiously.

"Because of all of them! The entire damn family is to blame!" he yelled, his hands shaking on the taut bowstring.

"Why?" she asked quietly, not taking her eyes off the clearly distraught man.

"What?" he asked, hoarse.

"Why do you blame the whole family for the actions of one member?"

"Because it's their _fault_. No one should've let Ozai into power—Iroh should've taken the throne, Azulon should've kept him in his place, Lu Ten should've—"

"What? Not gotten killed?" Katara was just as mad as he had been a few moments earlier, now. "Do you see how blaming others for things we cannot control takes its toll on us? How it can harm us years after the action takes place? After the person is gone? All for a simple grudge—all this, this planning, this elaborate set-up—for one simple grudge! When, if you had only let it go when you were first presented the chance, you would've stopped hurting, stopped feeling the pain of this wound. Instead, you let it fester and grow infected, and look what it has done to you. All this pain. Who's suffering the most, here? Not Ozai, or his family. It's you Tenzin."

Tenzin's eyes grew hard again. His hands firmed up on his bow, and he stopped shaking. "Do you even know what they did to me?" he asked coldly. Katara watched him warily, seeing a shadow of Tenzin's mother, Kaiya, appear behind him.

"I have an idea," she said, touching a hand to her mother's necklace.

Tenzin stood for a moment, watching her. "No. I don't think you do," he said icily, loosing the arrow. It flew straight and true at her chest, deadly in its accuracy. Katara decided it was time to leave this place. She stepped into the water of the river, which she had been slowly backing towards the whole time, and ripped herself from Tenzin's mind, back into her own body. As soon as her awareness returned to the world around her, Katara detached herself from Tenzin, made a water whip with her healing waters, and sliced through the fabric of the tent, retreating through the maze of fabric and into the oncoming light of morning.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: haha, finished early! We're drawing towards the ultimate, final climax of the story. Can you feel it? Yes, in this chapter, more about Tenzin is revealed. Can you guess his entire backstory (not just the part about him getting captured and trained to be a soldier-I tried to make that very clear)? Leave a comment and find out if you're right!**

**And in the last few chapters, I'll reveal what I'm sure you guys all suspected about this Tenzin and a certain other Tenzin we all know and love from a certain TV show which just finished it's first season (how bout that finale? whew.)**

**I'm planning on another story, one that reveals how we go from this sort of love interest (Zutara) to the one in The Promise and the premise of Korra (yes. I'm very sorry, Zutarans. I love it, too. But we have to go back to Kataang. No matter how much it creeps us out.) Any suggestions on how I should do it? Leave it below, or pm me!**

**SO! Leave your questions, comments, or suggestions about the story, title, or grammar (yeah, it happens) below because , as always, I love reviews! WHOO!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I don't Avatar or their characters, only my own and my ideas. Darn**.

**Warning: Violence...Cliffhangers... the usual**

* * *

><p>Chapter 13:<p>

* * *

><p>Zuko and Ty Lee were approaching a tiny little inlet with an old friend of Ty Lee's. Right now, as she helped him with the rigging and sails, they were talking about the man's recent trips to the area. But he said that no one had asked him for some time to go to the Shi no Tani. He couldn't help them. It didn't matter, though. From where Zuko stood at the railing of the boat, he could see a shabby, homemade dock that was sagging to the side, along with a slightly overgrown horse path. It was obvious that in the fairly recent past, someone had moved quite a few horses and wagons and carts through there. Zuko thought he could guess why.<p>

As the shallow, small boat pulled toward the dock, Zuko jumped up and over the rail, dragging behind him a strong, solid rope. He landed with a thump onto the dock, causing it to shake and shudder in a way that made him slightly nervous. But he couldn't think about it. Quickly, he wrapped and secured the rope, then looked back at the boat to see Ty Lee swinging from the riggings and down onto the rope, tightrope walking her way to lightly land on the dock. Despite her small stature and delicate landing, the dock still shook with great, shuddering bursts. There was a boom that echoed through the valley, bouncing off both the distance sides of the volcano and the slightly closer sides of the mountains. Zuko and Ty Lee exchanged a glance.

"I swear that wasn't me," Ty Lee said, her eyes big. They both turned back as another boom echoed. Without looking behind him, Zuko took off through the forest pathway. As he was crashing through the bush, he heard Ty Lee above him, swinging through the limbs of the trees. He thought he heard the same sense of urgency in her swings as he felt in his heart.

After only a quiet short while, they came upon a convergence of paths, all pointing towards the same the direction; towards the center of the valley. Ty Lee landed lightly beside him.

"Have you ever seen this?" he asked quietly. The paths still had beaten down weeds in them, which is what Zuko thought was a sign that someone had made them recently—and though he wasn't the tracker that Sokka was, he believed he was right.

"No," she answered quietly. She obviously believed what Zuko did. "You know what this means?"

He nodded. They, whoever they were, had been here awhile, to have even made the paths in the first place. He and Ty Lee began moving down the paths more cautiously, he bent down in the grasses of the path itself, she up above in the trees. Now, when they could meet anyone headed on this path, they both were wary of any movement and sound.

* * *

><p>Jia was in a large cage, suspended above the ground in the high canopy of the trees. She was slumped down, defeated, tired. For weeks they had let her hang up here, feeding her cold porridge and other generally repulsive items—a personal insult considering the fact that she ran a very successful inntavern. At first, she had raged at the men who put her into this cage, screaming at them, just as she had done during her first capture, telling them that they had no right, that Tenzin had told her she was necessary to the capture of the Water Tribe girl, Katara. But after only a few days, she stopped screaming all the time. And after two weeks, Tenzin appeared and set her straight. No, they were not government officials. No, Katara was not actually an outlaw. Yes—she had been used to capture her own friend. After that, she got angry again, but following another week, she realized there was no point. She was up, high enough in the trees that no one would see her if they casually glanced up, far enough away from anyone that nothing but the loudest screams were heard down below. And far enough away from any main thoroughfare that the path below got only the barest amount of traffic.

She sat, slumped in the cage, waiting for her midday meal of porridge and water, like every other day, until a boom echoed through the trees and the valley. It rattled her bones and shook the cage from where it was suspended, and she looked up in concern. It would not be good to have the cage fall from this height, even with the trees as buffers. Examining the chain, she satisfied herself with the thought that if the cage fell, she could probably get out in time. Hopefully.

Another boom rocked her cage, and Jia cried out as she swung back and forth more this time. She crawled over to the bars and grabbed them, as much for support as to try and see what was going on. She pushed her head as far out as it would go, and looked for the source of the booms. But without the sounds themselves echoing, it was hard to tell where they came from, as an eerie sort of quiet had descended on the valley. Jia used the bars and stood on shaky legs, crouched down with her head as far extended as it would go. The cage was shorter than her, and she was forced to stand slumped. For a few minutes she waited, before she heard something coming toward her. A rustling in the trees to her left caught her attention, and she craned her neck trying to see.

"Hello?" she called quietly, wary of what could've caused the boom throughout the valley. The rustling continued, drawing closer and closer. "Is somebody out there?" she called, louder. "Get me out!" She rattled the bars, clutching tighter as the cage swung precariously.

The rustling ceased, and Jia thought she heard someone whispering below her.

"Get me out!" she yelled again. More rustling ensued, and then Jia was face to face with a young girl in all pink. She blinked, surprised. The girl was hanging on the bars and the top of the cage, the rest of her dangling in space.

"Why are you up here?" she asked cheerfully.

"I was tricked into a plot, I think," Jia answered. She didn't quite know how to react. This girl was looking at her so cheerfully and innocently, and yet Jia could see muscles in her arms and torso tensing and relaxing—muscles she had no doubt knew how to ensure deadly accuracy. As she opened her mouth to ask a question she wasn't sure she knew, Jia heard still more rustling behind her, on the tree that she was suspended from. She turned slowly, trying not to rock the cage even more.

"Who are you?" said a young man behind her. His face was angry, which she assumed it always looked like, as half of it was set in a permanent scowl due to a burn mark over his eye. His shaggy black hair and black dress did nothing to help with the impression of serious anger.

"Jia," she answered, suddenly very scared. Who were these people, and why were they in this forest? Were they working for Tenzin, back from a long mission? Did they have good news, or bad?

"She says she was part of a plot. Unwillingly part of it," said the girl in pink. The man's attention shifted to her, then back to Jia.

"What kind of plot?" he asked gruffly.

"A kidnapping one. But I didn't know it at the time," she clarified. "They told me they were part of some special police force, whose mission was to capture a girl I was traveling with. They said she had fake passes, stamped by the Fire Lord himself." The man and the girl exchanged another look.

"Who was this girl?" he asked urgently.

"A Water Tribe girl who stayed in my inn. We travelled to Azulon Island together."

"What was her name?" he asked quickly.

"Katara."

That got a reaction from him, if slight widening of the eyes and nostrils flaring could be considered a reaction. The girl and he exchanged another look, then she began clambering to the top of the cage, causing it to rock and Jia to cry out, grasping for something to hold her weight that wasn't on a side. She settled for standing arms length away from a bar, gripping it tight in her hand. She could hear the girl's footsteps above her.

"What are you doing?" she shouted towards the ceiling.

"Trying to find an opening to get you out," she called back. "If you could look, too, it would go twice as fast."

Jia cast a look at her hand firmly clasped on the bar. She didn't really like heights or being off the ground, so the precariously hung cage was really no cup of tea for her. But if it would help her get out, what the hell. One finger at a time, she let go of the bar, then slowly started shuffling around the cage, feeling the ceiling carefully with her hands, never fully picking up her feet or her hands. About the center of the cage, she felt a slight bend in the metal, and feeling around some more, she could tell there were slight edges in a rough square.

"I found it! Here!" she yelled, banging on the square area to give the girl on top an idea of where she was. Light footsteps moved toward her, and she could feel the girl above her trying to figure out how to open the hatch.

"It's locked," she said from above. The man clambered up higher on the tree.

"I'll melt it off," he said. "Move, Ty Lee." Jia could hear the girl's footsteps above her as she moved away, and she decided to follow suit, moving to the opposite side of the cage, hoping to balance the girl out. There was a blast and a brief glow of yellow light and warm air, the Jia moved to the square and, using her vest to cover her hands, slowly pushed it open. She stood up in the hole it created, finally able to straighten her aching back. The girl helped her pull herself up from the hole and steadied her on the roof of the cage.

"Now we just need to find a way down," Jia said.

"We can just climb down the trees," the girl, Ty Lee, replied. Jia cast a glance over the edge of the cage.

"From this height?" A little of her fear crept into her voice, and she back quickly away. "I don't know if I can do that. I have a fear of heights."

Ty Lee considered her for a moment. "We could always carry you down," she said. Jia had a brief fantasy of her being dropped from a height, flailing and flying into tree branches all the way down until she hit the ground, dead.

"I don't think so," she said nervously. The girl was still eyeing her.

"Calm down." The man was still in the tree, perched on a branch. He had an end of the chain that held the cage up in his hand. The rest was draped around a peg and held by a simple, sturdy staple in the tree. "We don't have to do any of that."

A few minutes later, and after some precise firebending, they were lowering themselves gently to the ground on a pulley system. The man had created a giant loop, cutting the length of the chain in half, but since it was twice as long as the way to the ground, or so they thought, Jia really wasn't worried about whether she would need to climb down a few trees.

Once they were down, safely deposited on the ground, Jia took the time to look at her new allies. They were, to her astonishment, about the same age, despite the fact that the girl's small frame and cheerful attitude made her seem younger. Both were well muscled, and Jia could tell they could hold their own in a fight.

"May I ask, who are you?" she said. The two exchanged a glance, then turned toward her again.

"My name is Ty Lee," the girl said. Jia nodded; she had already known that since the man had said her name. "I am a Kyoshi Warrior." Jia nodded again; she had heard of the famous Kyoshi warriors, one of whom had helped the Avatar defeat the Fire Lord and save the world. She ran another critical eye over the girl. That would explain the musculature.

A huff of breath drew her attention to the man, who was staring at her intensely. "You aren't with the people who captured Katara?" he asked suspiciously.

Jia shook her head and gave him a disbelieving look. "Do you really think I'd ally with the people who put me into a cage?" He continued staring at her before a look of tired resolve entered his face.

"Okay," he said, drawing himself up to his full height, which didn't make him that much taller than her. Jia was tall for her gender. "But you cannot reveal any of this until I have decided it is appropriate." Jia raised an eyebrow. She didn't really take orders from anyone, but she figured this guy had a good reason for keeping his identity under wraps, so she nodded slightly. He took a deep breath in through his nostrils. "My name is Fire Lord Zuko, leader of the Fire Nation, son of Ozai and Ursa, grandson of Azulon and Ilah."

Jia stared at him. She did not say anything, she did not drop down to her knees and praise the presence of her leader, she simply stared him up and down. He did have the requisite burn scar over his eye the Fire Lord was known for, and the liquid gold eyes of the royalty—but so did a lot of people, not necessarily together, but she could see it happening. She squinted. He be a crazy, but he was a crazy who had gotten her out of the cage, so she could put up with his particular brand of crazy for awhile. She squinted at the girl, Ty Lee, again. Maybe she was crazy too. But they had both helped her out of her cage, so she figured she could deal with the girl like she could with the guy.

"Okay. So what do you want me to call you?"

He started. Perhaps he wasn't expecting that answer, but what answer was he expecting in this situation? "Uh…just Zuko, I guess," he said a little sheepishly, rubbing the back of his shaggy hair with his hand. Jia nodded.

"Alright. So what's our plan of action?"

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><p>Katara breathed deep. She couldn't believe what had occurred in a few short hours. But right now, she couldn't think about that.<p>

Her back was pressed up against a tree, and she cradled Tenzin in her arms. He was ominously unmoving, and unconscious. She pushed his black hair away from his face and wiped the tears from his eyes, even as they dried. She bent over him, his head pillowed in her lap, and kissed his forehead.

"I'm sorry," she said. When she leaned away, she saw a new tear, one of her own on his cheek. "Shit," she sniffled. She really, at this exact moment, couldn't afford to cry, as she had way too much to deal with at that exact moment. A noise in the bushes towards her right drew her attention. She tensed, placing a protective hand on Tenzin's shoulder, slightly lifting him so that she could moving from a sitting position to crouch, her legs tense beneath Tenzin's head. With her free hand, she uncorked one of her waterskins, and prepared for what may have been to come. But, to her relief, it was only a simple rabbit-mole that appeared from beneath the bushes. She exhaled and recorked her skins.

"Alright," she said, heaving Tenzin's heavy form into her arms, turning to drag him toward a nearby cave she had cleared earlier. The uphill slope of the mountain did nothing to help her in this endeavor, and she was already tired from hauling the heavy, comatose man halfway up the mountain before now. When she got to the ledge of the cave, she sighed and collapsed in relief, again letting Tenzin's head rest on her lap. After letting herself rest for a minute, Katara again jacked herself up and grasped Tenzin, using his armpits to drag him back into the cave. Once he was well situated a safe distance away from the opening, Katara pulled off her cloak—one of the few things she had been able to grab—and laid it down on the hard stone and packed dirt. She rolled Tenzin onto it, then sat back to review her work. What she had done.

A headache started to form in between her eyes.

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><p>She remembered the dawn light spreading, expelling the cool of night, as she wove her way through the tents, tripping over fabric and tension lines in her rush. They could be following her, or Tenzin could be telling them it was time for her to be done with. Anything, really. But she knew that most of the possibilities involved them chasing and her running, so that was just what she did.<p>

She ran through the tents and out into the meadow she knew so well, to the river she remembered from Tenzin's dream. It was only early morning, and most of the people in camp weren't up yet, so she didn't encounter anyone as she made her retreat. But she could behind her, the sounds of someone yelling, of people running, and, she thought, of weapons being unsheathed for battle. She uncorked her waterskins and widened her stance, preparing for a defensive retreat, until she realized her skins were empty. Hastily, she filled them from the stream, then recorked them and bent a water whip from the stream itself. There was no point in using water she might need later on. Katara turned towards the clearing and readied herself for the inevitable attack. It was then that she heard the rustling behind her.

Nervously glancing around her, Katara bent her head so she could just see the forest that backed up the river out of the corner of her eye. A figure was slowly emerging from the darkness between the trees. Katara could hear the men all running into the meadow in front of her, all armed and itching to attack, and she could hear her heartbeat speed with the knowledge that she was now, truly and fully, trapped and should find a way out.

But she couldn't keep her eyes off the woman standing behind her.

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><p><strong>Okay, this time you seriously have to read this!<strong>

**Author's Note:**

**Ha! I surprised myself there, you know. The idea for this little twist occurred to me earlier, but I've just now decided to utilize it. I didn't really have a plan for this ending (I never do) I just knew how I wanted it to go. But now I think I've got the perfect setup and plan...MWAHAHAH!**

**Still looking for chapter titles for the last two chapters...Maybe you guys just aren't up to snuff...that makes me really sad... :( I had so much hope for you...**

**ANYWAY, as I threatened earlier (I thinks), I'll be writing a sequel to this that explains how we get from Aang's uncaring and Zuko's undying love to the whole thingamabob in LoK. HOWever, right at this exact moment I have way too many fan projects in my head, including a stage play of repo, this sequel, and some HP stuff. Since I've already started in on my harry potter stuff (I've even been rereading the books for research) and I've no idea how I'm going to do this sequel, that's going to be my main focus.**

**Anyways, I've gotta run!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Warning: Mild Language**

**Disclaimer: I don't any of Avatar's characters, just my own ideas. Darn.**

**PS: REALLY sorry about the late date, but I'll explain in the author's note at the end!**

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><p>Chapter 14:<p>

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><p>"Hello, Katara," Hama said, a wicked smile spreading on her face. Katara turned to view the old woman more fully, her gaze nervously glancing around the meadow as the sounds of shouts and pursuit gradually grew louder.<p>

"Hama," her voice came out in a gravelly whisper, blocked by the frog that had formed in her throat from fear.

"There she is!" came the shout from behind her. Katara turned to find every weapon-wielding member of the camp forming a circle around the meadow, pushing her toward the river—and Hama.

She can't Bloodbend, her mind whispered, desperately trying to view a way Katara could escape this. Hama, she knew, couldn't Bloodbend with the sun already high up in the sky. But Katara couldn't either—the moon was nowhere near the strength she needed it to be for her to consider it—and she was already tired from lack of sleep and the draining effect of entering someone else's mind. Katara felt Hama had no such problems, and she was given an advantage from the multitudes of people who wanted Katara incapacitated at the moment.

"There's nowhere to go, Katara." Tenzin's voice pulled her out of her reverie, forcing her to turn and see him, arrow trained on her chest. She had a stab of déjà vu—only minutes before, almost the exact same scene had taken place inside his dream. Katara felt another stab of weakness looking into his gray eyes—it was like they reminded her of just how bone-tired and terribly scared she was—they sucked her strength from under her. She felt her hands begin to shake.

"Tenzin," she whispered, pleading. There was nothing she would be able to do to block his arrow—she was too weak.

"This was always the plan, you know. To kill you. I had just hoped to do it in front of the Fire Lord," Tenzin said, cruelty in his voice. He moved towards her, the fingers on his bowstring tightening. "I am sorry," he whispered, and Katara could've sworn there was sadness in his eyes. He let the arrow fly.

Katara felt several things happen at once as she watched the arrow slow down in space. She felt a surge of strength as she bended a block of water to shield her from the deadly arrow. She felt a blow to her back—Hama taking the chance to attack as Katara was distracted. The blow was enough to destroy the half-formed shield, and she thought that it was the end. But she felt a warm wind whisper across her face, and watched as the arrow quivered and swooped around, turning from her towards the meadow, and Tenzin. Katara watched, astonished, as Tenzin raised his arm in a sweeping arc, the arrow flying off into the distance.

"You're an Airbender," she said, astonished. Now, it made sense—Tenzin's gray eyes, what Katara had seen in the dream. Tenzin scowled and gripped his bow tighter, glancing around him. The warriors of the meadow were shifting uncomfortably, murmurs passing through like a summer breeze. His secret was finally in the open.

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><p>Tenzin was muttering faintly, making Katara wonder whether he was asleep or in a coma. She had never heard of someone in a coma talking. His mutterings grew more frantic. She slid over to him and pulled his head into her lap, smoothing his hair over his forehead and making quiet shushing sounds. She remembered doing this to Sokka, Aang, and Toph in turn when they weren't feeling well, or when she awoke in the nights to their stressed mutterings.<p>

"What happened to you, Tenzin?" she whispered softly. "What made you into this?"

"Do you really want to know?" an ephemeral whispered. Katara looked up, coming, once again, face to face with the woman she had seen in Tenzin's dreams—his mother, Kaiya. The woman had the faded look of a spirit, and her eyes were tired as she stared down into her son's face. "It is a sad tale." Katara touched her hand to her necklace, then thought back to Zuko's story of his mother, to Aang's of the monks, to Toph's parents, to Jet, even to Haru.

"I've heard my share," she said quietly. She found Kaiya's ghostly eyes on her, noticing for the first time, that in the spirit state, Kaiya had taken on the traditional form of Air Nomad women. Kaiya nodded, slowly.

"Alright," she said. "I will tell you.

"I was born the daughter of a long line of Air Nomads, ones who had, somehow or another, escaped the great massacres and gone into hiding in the Fire Nation. At the time, they thought it was the safest place for them to live—it is incredibly easy to fake sub-par firebending with airbending, and what Fire Lord would persecute his own people? My family lived for decades in stealth and fear, secretly practicing the art of airbending, and teaching the dogma of the nomads to their children. As did I. As did my son.

"But when Fire Lord Ozai took the throne, times changed. Ozai was obsessed with not only taking over the world, but the purification of his own nation—strange considering he was encouraging mixing nations in the colonies. Perhaps, even then, he was not fully in his right mind."

"What did he do?" Katara asked, anxious. She knew what Ozai had planned for the world before Aang had stopped him—what he had planned for his own people could be even more horrific.

"He began concentration camps—anyone suspected of plotting against him or harboring airbenders. At first, it was harmless enough. Few people spoke out, and those that did were either very good at hiding it, or very dumb to do it in public. Then, more and more people were taken. Outspoken, stupid men, people who had gotten on the bad side of the locals. The only way to survive was to pay bribes. That was what my husband did; we were not safe, Tenzin and I, the police threatened many times to take us away. Eventually, they did.

"I was separated from Tenzin, and he was sent to a training camp for Fire Nation Special warriors. They changed him there, I know. He went through so many horrible things—he almost forgot what I had taught him about life, about good. He almost forgot me.

"When Tenzin was eighteen, he heard his friends bragging about how they had killed a woman who was trying to escape; they had found her in these mountains, surrounding their camp. They laughed about how she had begged for her life, claiming her son was taken to this camp so many years ago. They laughed and said it was a shame they hadn't taken advantage of her before they killed her, but one of the men spoke up, saying that her gray eyes had unnerved him and reminded him of his good friend, Tenzin."

"It was you, wasn't it? The woman they killed trying to find her son?"

Kaiya sighed and lowered her head. "Tenzin thought so too. But it wasn't me; I died many years before that."

"I'm sorry," Katara said earnestly. She had lost her mother many years ago, but she couldn't imagine what it was like to hear the details of what you thought was her death; to hear your friends joke about raping her.

"I many times wish I could've told Tenzin that it wasn't me that day. It has tortured my son for so long—it is why he started this in the beginning. To revenge me."

Katara thought back to that day she had spent with Tenzin, when she was first captured. Tenzin had talked about revenge—how she was stronger for not giving into her urge to seek it. Perhaps this was why. She then thought back to the days before Sozin's Comet, when she and Zuko had gone to find the man who killed her mother. She had only partially understood then why Zuko had fought to let her go, when Aang was so against it. She had thought it had been to get on her good side, in the days before they had to fight together. Now she knew—it was to show her what revenge could do to a person, how it destroyed and consumed, how you had to face it and beat it before you could rectify with yourself. Aang had never known that kind of all-consuming anger, the kind that came from losing family, loved ones. Katara, Tenzin, and Zuko all had that in common.

"I understand," she whispered to him, smoothing his hair over his forehead again.

"Yes." Kaiya was watching her.

"You protected me, didn't you?" Katara commented idly.

"Yes."

"It really didn't help him, did it?" Kaiya watched Katara smooth her son's hair, a wistfulness in her eyes. Katara had no doubt that if it were possible, Kaiya would comfort her son herself. She continued her comforting motions.

"I had hoped…" Kaiya started. Katara looked up to see the anguish in the spirits eyes.

"Yes," Katara agreed watching the spirit carefully, thinking back to the events of that morning.

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><p>Zuko rubbed his forehead. He, Ty Lee, and Jia had been tracking Katara for an hour now. They had come onto the extensive camp hidden in the woods, and the meadow, where there were only a few people left milling about, taking down tents and putting away things in large carts awhile ago, and they crept around it cautiously.<p>

"They're breaking camp," he breathed. "But why?"

"Look," Ty Lee had whispered, pointing. "There." In the center of the meadow was a group of men in a circle, whispering. There was a burn mark beside them.

"What are they doing?" he wondered.

"I recognize them," Jia whispered excitedly. "They were part of the group who took Katara!"

"Which one is the leader?" Zuko wanted to get his hands on the person who had thought to take Katara and blackmail him.

Jia squinted. "He's not there. Tenzin's his name, but that one," she pointed to a big man who looked like he was running the whispered meeting, "that's his second."

"So they'd know where she is?"

"Yeah."

"How do we get them to tell us where he is?" Ty Lee asked, scrambling silently into a tree to get a better view. The group of men had broken apart and were heading toward the forest on the other side of the clearing.

"Follow me," Jia moved to skirt the clearing, inside the shadow of the trees. Zuko and Ty Lee followed her silently. Soon the were following behind the group, Zuko and Ty Lee casting glances back and forth and wondering what Jia was doing. The older woman stood for a minute, watching the men as they entered the forest quietly, just past where they were standing, spread out, and began to search for something. When one of the last men passed her, Jia's hand jerked up, and the man fell to the ground, casting a glance suspiciously around him about what had tripped him up.

"What's the matter, Ling? Trip over your own feet?" one of the others snickered.

"I don't trip," growled the one still on the ground, shooting the other man a glare.

"Oh, come on, Ling! Everybody trips sometimes!" Just then the second came up and clapped a hand on the snickering man's shoulder.

"Ling doesn't trip," he said, casting suspicious glances around the clearing. Slowly, keeping his eyes on the trees around him, he moved toward the fallen man. The others moved with him. As soon as they were all in front of the trees where Jia, Zuko, and Ty Lee were all hidden, Jia's foot stomped down and her forearms snapped together. The men in the clearing all fell into a bowl that had just appeared below them, and was rapidly becoming a deep hole with steep walls, with too little space for any of them to really move, as Jia continued her earthbending. When she had finished, the three emerged from the trees and stared down at the men in the clearing. They grunted and protested, but could do little in terms of movement. Zuko approached the hole without showing any signs of surprise at Jia's earthbending and, quick as lightening, reached out and grabbed the second's shirt collar, heaving the great bulk of a man up and slightly out of the hole, causing the others to shout and protest as they fell against each other in the space the man used to be.

"Where's the waterbender girl you took?" Zuko demanded.

"Got no idea," the burly man replied.

"Sure you do. You're the second-in-command, right? So then you know where she is."

"Why the hell should I know? I don't give a fuck about the girl."

"Then why did you take her?" Jia broke in.

"Wasn't my idea to take her. It was that damn traitor Tenzin's. None of us give a shit what happens to her now."

Jia narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean that 'traitor Tenzin's'? Weren't you followers of his?"

"Let us out of this hole and I'll tell you," he grunted in Jia's direction. Jia and Zuko exchanged glances, then Zuko dropped the man back into the hole, then the two returned to the shade of the trees to consult with Ty Lee.

"We should let him out," Zuko said.

"What if he's lying?" asked Jia, concerned. Zuko and Ty Lee exchanged glances, then turned to her.

"We'll take care of him."

They returned to the hole, where Zuko again reached in and heaved out the hulking man who was second to Tenzin. As soon as he was out of the hole, Jia earthbended some cuffs for him (just to be safe), then closed the hole more, leaving no room for escape. Zuko led the man farther into the forest.

"I thought you were letting us all out?" he grunted, jerking his hands away from the cuffs in vain.

"No. Just you. You will tell us what happened, then we will decide whether you deserve to go free."

They led him into the trees until they came to a small circle where Zuko let the man sit with his back against the trees and stood in front of him arms crossed. Jia and Ty Lee took up positions flanking Zuko and the man, who told them his name was Wing, Jia leaning up against the tree, Ty Lee perched on one of the higher branches. The man seemed to understand that he wasn't going anywhere any time soon.

"Alright. I'll tell you." He shifted around, his hands still cuffed behind his back, trying to get more comfortable, but it was in vain, so soon he settled for the sharp pain of the cuffs. He sighed. "We were chasing the waterbender girl, the one you're looking for..."

* * *

><p>They chased her through the camp until they got to the clearing, where she stood in the river, trapped on one side by Hama, on the other by Tenzin and his men. The girl looked so tired, she was shaking, it was a wonder that she had even gotten that far. Tenzin stepped up and strung his bow, talking softly, threatening her.<p>

"Hello, Katara," he said. The girl whispered, pleading. Wing and his fellows prepared for a fight, but he was mostly focused on Hama, not the little girl, who looked like she might collapse any second.

"This was always the plan, you know. To kill you. I had just hoped to do it in front of the Fire Lord," Tenzin said, raising his bow. There was a shift of the warriors making up the circle. That had not been what they were told.

Their plan had been to capture the girl, to lure the Fire Lord to them, and to capture him, effectively ending the line of Fire Nation rulers that had besieged them for centuries. They would strip him of all his royal trappings, beat him bloody and maim him more, maybe put a few more burns, so that he would be totally unrecognizable and that no one would ever believe him when he raved about being the Fire Lord. Then, they would lead a revolution in the city, and no longer would the Fire Nation be an aristocracy, ruled by an old, inbred, outdated family, but instead a new, shiny democracy, ruled by the people. Never again would the forced labor camps or genocides of Ozai be a problem, and the country would be well-ruled and free. That was the plan Tenzin had sold them on. But it seemed Tenzin had lied about a great many things.

Tenzin strung his bow and let fly. But something happened. A woman, beautiful, pale, ghostly, had formed in front of the girl, and with a waved, redirected the arrow towards Tenzin's heart. Wing had tensed, ready to fight the spirit, though he didn't know how, when Tenzin fell to the arrow. But Tenzin didn't fall. He waved, and the arrow, with a burst of wind, flew away from him. A murmur went up among the men, because this was the last thing they had expected, even after what Tenzin had just said. Wing had felt his hands tighten, not sure who he was supposed to attack, but sure that he felt the need to.

Tenzin started, then began laughing hysterically. "My secret's finally out!" he screamed, still laughing, spreading his hands. "All my life! Only two people have ever known my secret, and you've exposed me in merely two seconds! Well done, Katara, well done!" He started to clap, still giggling maniacally. The spirit of the woman was still there, still standing in front of Katara, but through her ghostly translucence, Wing could see the shock on Katara's face, the supreme sadness.

"I'm sorry, Tenzin," she said. He stopped laughing abruptly.

"What are you sorry for? Exposing me? Ruining my plans for revenge? Getting rid of my one reason to live? No problem! Not at all! I'll survive!" He turned serious. "Right, mother? Survival is the most important thing, right? Even though you didn't."

The ghost's beautiful face crumpled under sadness. "No," her sad voice echoed throughout the meadow, sending a chill down Wing's back. "I didn't survive. I almost wish I had, if it would've saved you."

Tenzin snorted. "Nothing can save me. I'm alone, don't you see? I've been alone forever."

"No, Tenzin," Katara said, her voice strong. "You're not alone. She's been here. Your mother has been here, all along."

Just then, Wing noticed Hama. He had been so distracted by the scene in front of him, he had not kept an eye on the unpredictable woman, and in all the confusion she had crept from one side of the river to the other, into the meadow, creeping closer and closer to Tenzin. Now, she was maybe twenty paces to him, and she looked incredibly dangerous. As Wing began to move to warn them, Hama made her move. After that, it was a blur, but he did remember a large boom from a hand grenade, another boom echoing throughout the canyon, and Katara dragging an unconscious Tenzin away from the fray.

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><p><strong>AN: Okay, I'm a bad person.**

**I put off finishing this chapter because I am literally almost done with this whole project, and I don't really want it to end, you know what I mean?**

**I was was also preparing to move to college, and hanging out with friends that I wouldn't get to see for the rest of the year, so...**

**But I did have most of this chapter written, and an idea about where I wanted to go! I had up to Jia's earthbending, which is what moves this chapter into the exposition of the events that Zuko and Ty Lee came into. But then...**

**My computer died. Literally. I had to erase the hard drive and reinstall all my applications and everything, but I'm already moved into my dorm, so my backup disk is safe at home, which means all the files on it were there. So I had absolutely no way to write anything, except in the library, which I was using for schoolwork. Luckily I have Dropbox, so now all my files are on that, so if I ever loose a computer again, I will not have the same problem! YAY!**

**Now, to make up for it, since I don't have any homework (I've done it all) really, I'm going to spend today working on the next chapter.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Warning: Mild language and fanon. Deal with it**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing Avatar related, except my ideas.**

**Aren't I trying to be nice?**

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><p>Chapter 15: The End<p>

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><p>There was a rumble in the cave. Katara jerked out of her furtive nap, Tenzin's head still in her lap. Her legs were numb, bent under her, and for a moment, she couldn't remember where she was. But then she remembered.<p>

That morning, yesterday, Hama attacking Tenzin, the whole meadow descending into a violent fray. There was a grenade thrown, there was fire, there were flashing swords and dancing daggers. And there was Hama and Tenzin, fighting, Hama reaching out a hand, healing waters glowing. Katara remembered her heart giving a lurch. Hama had discovered what Katara had; that healing waters applied to the head will lead into the mind of the subject. She had wondered whether Hama had discovered this on her own, or that she had been stalking Katara for awhile, discovering some tricks of her trade. Katara remembered lurching out of the water as she thought this, rushing towards Tenzin, hoping to save him from whatever Hama would do. But she came to late, Hama's hand on Tenzin already when Katara came, slapping away Hama, but Tenzin would not awaken. There was another great boom, echoing, and in fear, Katara dragged Tenzin away from the fray, through the river, into the woods, rushing to safety. But now it seemed her safety had turned on her.

The rumble that had awoken her had stopped, but another had followed in its stead growing steadily larger and more concerning. Katara could feel the earth stutter beneath her, and she saw the walls and ceiling begin to shake, small rocks and pebbles vibrating loose and falling to the floor, where they remained in motion. Scared, she clutched Tenzin close to her. If the cave fell in on itself, what would she do? Even if she got them both out-which she didn't think would happen because, even without her legs numb and unmoving beneath her, it had taken too much energy to carry him up the mountain and into the cave-where would they go? Katara didn't know the area at all, she barely knew which direction camp was in, and-she shuddered-she had no idea where Hama was, or what the old woman was doing. The cave gave another great shudder, and she bent over Tenzin, protecting him from the small stones, which were now growing larger, that were falling over them both.

"Please, please," she whispered. "Please, wake up!"

Kaiya was nowhere, so she didn't know what to do. She just kept pleading, even at one point, crying outright tears.

After a long time, the shaking stopped. Katara looked up, dazed. She didn't know how much time had passed, but she guessed at hours. Little rocks and stones littered what had previously been a very clean, smooth floor. Carefully, she extracted herself from Tenzin, tenderly laying his head on the floor, then moved toward where the mouth of the cave had been before. But instead of the wide, low hole, she found a pile of rocks, through which she could see little shafts of light.

"Well, at least we have fresh air," she murmured. But she didn't risk calling out. Until she had a plan, she wouldn't risk anything.

She returned to Tenzin's side and opened her waterskins. Preparing herself mentally, she gloved her hands in healing waters, then placed her hands on Tenzin's temples, just as she had done the night before.

This time, when she entered Tenzin's mind, there was no flow of dreams to connect her. She stood in blackness, but no one, nothing appeared before her.

"Hello?" she called, her voice soft, unechoing in the soft blackness. She began to move, trying to find the man whose mind she occupied. "Tenzin?" After walking for awhile, calling his name, she came on a shadowy, bent figure. "Tenzin?" she knelt down beside him, moving to place her hand on his back. But when she moved to pat him, her hand went right through him. Startled, she stared at her own hand, then at Tenzin, who, now she could see, was fading away even as she sat next to him.

"Tenzin? Tenzin!" she cried, trying to shake him out of his reverie. Slowly, he turned towards her.

"Katara," he rasped, and she thought, for a moment, that he grew more solid before her eyes. "What's happened?"

"I-I don't know," she said, desperately try to keep him from fading away. She felt a sharp pain of sadness and pity. "Just try to hold on!"

"I can't feel anything, Katara," he whispered, tears making silent trails down his cheeks, reminding her of the little boy she had met here, in his mind, just the night before. "I can't feel anything! I'm so scared! What happened to me?"

"Hama," she whispered desperately. "Hama did this to you. She-she tried to do what I did, but I stopped her. But-I was too late! I'm so sorry, Tenzin!"

"Tenzin." Kaiya appeared before them. Her face was sad. "You must come with me."

"No! Kaiya, no!" Katara cried. "You can't take him with you! I-I can heal him! I know it!"

"Katara," Kaiya soothed. "You can't undo this. It is Fate. Tenzin must come with me."

"No, please!"

"Katara," Tenzin whispered beside her. "It's alright. I'll finally get to be with my mother. I won't have to hide anything anymore."

"But..."

"It's alright." His ethereal form leaned forward, kissing her forehead. She felt a soothing warmth wash through her, a ghost of his kiss on her forehead. "Thank you, for everything you've done for me."

"What have I done?" She was crying now.

"You let me let go of my anger." He was fading more fully now. "And for that, I'll always be here for you." He was gone now.

"I wish to thank you, as well," Kaiya said. "Thank you for saving my son." They were both gone now, and Katara, after a moment of quiet solitude, Katara pulled herself out of the now empty blackness and back into herself. She sat, watching Tenzin's body as it breathed in and out slower and slower, then stopped. She could feel the tears stream down cheeks, and she could hear a strange, high keening coming out of her throat. She could do nothing to stop either, so she just sat, and let the tears flow.

* * *

><p>After Wing had told them his tale, Zuko stood for a moment, thinking.<p>

"Hama," he growled. "Hama is the real problem, isn't she?"

"What about Tenzin?" Ty Lee asked.

He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Katara saved Tenzin. There must be some good to him, right?"

Ty Lee watched him for a moment, then nodded her approval.

"But we have to find Hama," he continued.

"We already have," Wing grunted. All three of the others turned to stare at him.

"You have?" Zuko asked, dubious. Wing nodded his assent, grunting.

"If you keep away from her during full moon, and just take her down any other time, it ain't too hard. Especially when you've got twenty warriors on her."

Zuko stood for another moment, silent, brooding. "If she's already been captured and sufficiently restricted, then I'll deal with her later. Right now, we've got find Katara." The other two nodded. Zuko turned back to Wing. "We'll let you go if you help us find her. Then I'll listen to your people's demands and ideas."

Wing stared at him, clearly astonished. "I never thought I'd hear a member of the royal family say that."

"Well, you just did. Will you help us find Katara?" he said, a bit impatiently. Wing nodded, struggling to use the tree trunk to help himself up. Once he was standing, Jia took the cuffs off him, and, rubbing his wrists, they returned to the place where the rest of his men waited in the hole. Jia let them go, and Zuko said Wing could bring one of his best trackers, but the rest would have to return and guard Hama. Wing agreed, and, picking his companion, they set off up the mountain.

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><p>It took them awhile to track Katara, but not too long to find her not-very-well-hidden trail. The time was spent climbing the steep mountain finding safe pathways. And, of course, they had to stop when a rumble split the air, growing louder and louder, and the earth started to shake beneath their feet. They took shelter beneath a large boulder from falling rocks and debris, but Zuko could tell Wing was worried, and, consequently, was worried as well.<p>

"It'll be harder to find her trail with this," Wing's companion, Ling, said as the rumbling ceased. Wing silently nodded, and Zuko silently prayed to the spirits that they'd be able to find Katara, alright and in one piece.

When the rumbling ceased, they again, after some searching, picked up the trail and followed it up the mountain, and Wing said there was a cave up there that he thought she might've taken refuge in. Zuko felt irrational hope blooming in his chest, irrational because he knew Katara would probably be okay, she was quite capable, and because, well, why did he care so much? But no matter how hard he tried to logic it away, the hope remained, pulsing deep inside his chest along with his heartbeat.

"We're getting close," Wing said, almost an hour later.

"Do you hear that?" Zuko asked. For almost twenty minutes, he had heard a steady, high wail, that had been growing louder as they moved toward the cave that Wing had thought Katara was in. Ty Lee, Jia, Wing, and Ling all nodded.

"It sounds so sad," said Ty Lee quietly. She pouted slightly, upset that someone else was unhappy.

"What if-?" Jia started, but then stopped abruptly.

"What is it, Jia?" Ty Lee asked sweetly.

"Nothing. I just thought it may be Katara." They all stopped and listened more carefully to the keening wail, and Zuko felt a stab of panic.

"What if she's hurt? Wing, take us this cave, quickly." The big man obeyed, clearly concerned with Zuko's zealous change of pace. He lead them up to the mouth of the cave, or where the mouth used to be. A pile of boulders sat in front of it, completely blocking their way.

"Jia!" Zuko demanded, trying hard, but failing, to keep the desperation out of his voice. The older woman stepped up, and with a few harsh movements, cleared enough debris for Zuko and Ty Lee to slip through. Before she finished clearing the rest of the hole, Zuko crawled through it and called for Katara, desperately trying to find her in the sudden darkness of the cave.

"Zuko?" Her soft came from the back of the cave, and Zuko followed it, one hand to the wall, as Jia continued to clear rocks. "Zuko, how did you find me?" He knelt down beside her, his eyes finally adjusting to the light enough that he could see the tears running down her face, and a man, lifeless, or seemingly, lying beside her. He dropped to his knees and pulled her into his arms.

"I just did. I found you. Thank the spirits I found you."

Katara leaned into his embrace, seeking his comfort. "Zuko, he's dead. I couldn't help him at all. I couldn't save him," she sniffled, still shaking.

"Shhh. I know, it's alright. I've got you. I found you now."

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><p>He knew that they couldn't stay like that. He knew that he would have to help her up, help her down the mountain, return her to her family, to Aang. He knew that she was too good for him. He knew that he had duties, that he was obligated to marry within the Fire Nation. But he also knew that, for right now, Katara needed him. That he and Katara would also be connected by this, and by many other things in their past. It was enough for Zuko, right then and there, to hold Katara in his arms for that just that one moment, to keep her close on the journey back to the capitol, to be always part of her story when people asked about this journey. When he got back, Ping would tell him he couldn't love her, that the people weren't ready for it. Ping would tell him Katara needed to be with Aang, because Aang was better for her. But he knew that he would keep this moment, this journey, forever in his heart.<p>

The Journey: Ended.

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><p><strong>AN: I thought that I would be nice, and give you the last chapter (this another of those that maybe in the future, will receive revision. I usually do it while I write, that's why it takes so long, but I didn't today). There may or may not be an epilogue. Plan for not.**

**As always, read and review. Bye.**


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